Oxford,
30
November
2015
|
16:47
Europe/London

Don’t be a drink drive statistic – leave your car at home

And with the festive season rapidly approaching, Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service is urging drivers to leave their cars at home if they are out celebrating.

Below is advice and guidance from the Fire Service on how to avoid drink driving and how to keep you and other road users safe.

There are also statistics on casualties in drink drive related accidents and  a list of events where the Road Safety Education Team and Firefighters will be out and about around the county during December.

If you are out and about partying or visiting family and friends leave your car keys at home and don’t drink and drive, book a taxi, catch a bus or train, walk home, stay overnight or if you’re out in a group have a designated driver. Never accept a lift from a driver that has been drinking alcohol.

Try a Mocktail instead

Mocktails are mock cocktails that do not contain any alcohol. Any drink recipe can be modified by simply leaving the alcohol out. They are great non-alcoholic drinks for the entire family and an excellent alternative for drivers.

If you’re going out rather than staying at home, lots of restaurants, pubs and bars offer a Mocktail menu. If they don’t, you could ask for a ‘virgin’ version of your favourite cocktail instead, any drink recipe can be modified by simply leaving out the alcohol.

Don’t get caught out the morning after

People are also being encouraged to recognise that they may well be over the legal drink-drive limit the morning after an evening of consuming alcohol.

Avoid heavy drinking if you are planning on driving the following day, it takes much longer than most people think for alcohol to pass through the body.

The effect on a person of consuming alcohol varies from person to person and depends on a number of factors, but on average it takes about one hour for your body to rid itself of each unit of alcohol, starting from the time you finish your last drink.

  • On average, consuming three 15% alcohol 250ml glasses of wine could mean people would not be safe to drive for 13 hours after finishing their last drink.
  • Four pints of 5% alcohol beer or larger on average may mean that a person is not safe to drive for 13 hours after finishing their last drink.
  • Three 70ml 40% shots of spirit consumed may mean on average that a person would not be safe to drive for eight and a half hours after finishing their last drink.

 

Check out the drinks clock to find out how long it will take or visit the drink driving page on 365alive.co.uk.

Statistics

 

CASUALTIES

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015 (to Oct)

TOTAL Cas

2242

2306

2164

1964

2203

1756

ALCOHOL Cas

126

144

100

91

105

81

% ALCOHOL

5.62

6.24

4.62

4.63

4.77

4.61

BREATH TEST Cas

81

90

64

42

65

61

% BREATH TEST

3.61

3.90

2.96

2.14

2.95

3.47

 

 

 

  • “ALCOHOL Accs/Cas” – refer to those accidents where the attending TVP Officer assigned a causation factor which relates to “Impaired by alcohol”.
  • “BREATH TEST Accs/Cas” – refer to those accidents where at least one participant either

a) provided a positive breath test, or b) refused to provide a sample (i.e. implying guilt).

 

Would seem that although the numbers are small, we are seeing a general increase in the % casualties which have involved a failed/refused breath test.

 

Mick Clarke, Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service Road Safety Manager said: “A small amount of alcohol will influence your ability to judge speed and distances, and your reaction times will be slower”.

“The only safe option is not to drink alcohol if you plan to drive, and never offer an alcoholic drink to someone else who is intending to drive. Encourage them to have a drink soft drink, or why not offer them a Mocktail instead.”

“It’s also essential that people know the effects of alcohol can still last into the morning after a drinking session. If you’re driving to work or dropping the kids at school the next morning, don’t get caught out, you could still be over the drink drive limit, even if you feel fine.”

“Drinking coffee, sleeping, or having a shower won’t work. Time is the only way to get alcohol out of your system.”

Cllr Rodney Rose, Oxford shire county Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for the Fire and Rescue Service said: ”Drink driving ruins lives. It might be tempting just to have a drink or two but it really isn’t worth the risk of having an accident and harming yourself or others. If you want to drink – leave your car at home.”

 

Events

30th November at Asda, Wheatley from10:30am to 12:30pm. OFRS Home and Community Safety, OCC and Emergency Planning should be attending the event to promote winter safety.

 

1st December at Tesco in Faringdon from 10am to 1pm. Shoppers will also get to sample Mocktails provided by Tesco’s. OCC and Emergency Planning should be attending the event to promote winter safety.

 

1st December for the Kidlington Christmas Lights switch on at Kidlington Fire Station from 6pm-8pm. Pop along to try the Winter Punch Mocktail, ingredients provided by the Co-op.

 

3rd December at Toys R Us, Botley Road from 10am to 1pm. OFRS Home and Community Safety and OCC should be attending the event to promote winter safety.

 

4th December at Sainsbury’s, Heyford Hill from 10am to 1pm

 

4th December at The Woolgate in Witney from 1.30pm to 3.30pm. Shoppers will be able to sample a Mocktail provided by Waitrose.

 

16th December at Sainsbury’s in Kidlington from 10am to 1pm. Shoppers will be able to sample a Mocktail provided by Sainsbury’s. TVP will be joining us at this event and will bring a crashed car as visual for Christmas anti-drink drive.

 

 

 

 

Notes to editors:

  • This advice is part of Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service’s 365alive initiative.