The year is coming to an end, with plenty of celebrations planned across the country to ring in 2023.
Drinkaware, the national, independent charity working to prevent and reduce alcohol misuse, has published a warning to the public about the dangers of drink driving.
This yeat the death toll has reached 159 - an increase of 23 at the same time last year - and so the experts are providing advice on how to stay safe while we celebrate the New Year.
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Irish road deaths are someimes caused by preventable things such as speeding, drink/drug driving, as well as careless and wreck less driving.
Experts are now calling for this trend of accidents and fatal injuries must be broken, so Drinkaware has the facts you need to know before celebrating this New Year.
Know the facts:
- It takes at least one hour to process one standard drink
- Examples of a standard drink are half a pint of beer, a 100ml glass of wine, or a standard measure of spirits.
- The time starts from when the last drink is finished.
- For example, if a person finished three pints of beer at midnight, they will have consumed siz standard drinks, this means they will need six hours from midnight when they stopped drinking before their body will have processed the alcohol and they should not get behind the wheel of a car until 6:00 am at the earliest
- Many things such as your weight, age, gender, metabolism, mood, whether you’ve eaten etc, can further delay the processing time.
- 1 hour per standard drink is a guideline only.
- Tiredness-related collisions are three times more likely to be fatal or result in a serious injury.
If you’re planning on having a drink when you’re out
- Leave the car at home
- Plan ahead if visiting a place, you haven’t been before, make sure there are alternative options such as buses, taxis or trains
- Switch to an alcohol alternative to ensure that you are safe to drive, don’t take any unnecessary risks
- If visiting a rural area call the restaurant or pub ahead of time to see if shuttle services are available
- If staying in a hotel/B&B check with the staff for options in taking you to and from places
Speaking ahead of the celebrations, CEO of Drinkaware, Sheena Horgan, said: “We know that the Irish public has the best of intentions and want to do the right thing.
“The massive increase of 75% in visits to the Drinkaware drink driving webpage this year clearly shows that people want to know the facts and to keep their families and communities safe.
“The tragic loss of life on Irish roads this year is a trend we can all help to break by acting on the factual information provided and following the RSA and An Garda Síochána’s advice.
“Ahead of the New Year, I invite everyone to avail of free Drinkaware resources, such as our Drinks Calculator and our drink driving webpage for more information. Let’s make this New Year a safe, fun, and enjoyable time for all”.
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