Oxford,
15
December
2017
|
04:00
Europe/London

“It’s not worth the risk”: don't drink and drive

Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service is supporting the anti-drink and drive campaign by Thames Valley Police by urging road users to have “none for the road” as the party season gets into full swing.

Our Road Safety Education team says that when working at events in the community, they are often asked: “how many drinks can I have and still be under drink-drive limit?”. The truth is that it’s impossible to work that out. It all depends on how the units, the size of the person, their blood volume, their metabolic rate, whether the person has eaten, if they are taking medication or are tired. Women have smaller livers, so process the alcohol more slowly.

One drink could put you over the drink-drive limit and even small amounts of alcohol (or drugs) can affect our vision, co-ordination and decision making skills. The best bet is not to drink at all.

The vast majority of drivers are doing the right thing but a significant minority continue to put themselves and others at risk. Alcohol plays a part in almost 1 out of 5 deaths on Oxfordshire roads in 2016. That’s why we are saying that it’s not worth the risk.

The morning after the night before…

Many drivers are sensible and make a plan so they don’t drink-drive on an evening out. However, many people aren’t aware of just how important it is to know what you’ve been drinking during that night out, to work out when you’ll be OK to drive the next day.

Andy Ford, Oxfordshire County Council, Fire & Rescue Service’s Road Safety Education Team Manager said, “Our ‘Morning After’ campaign and resources remind people that it takes around 1 hour per unit of alcohol to be processed by our liver. There’s no way to speed that up the process, drinking water or coffee might make you feel better/more lively but it won’t increase the speed at which your body processes the alcohol - Only time work”.

Top Tips for a Safe and Merry Christmas: