Most drivers know it is wrong to drink alcohol and drive. But, local ‘snap shot’ surveys have revealed drivers think it is ‘ok’ to have a couple of drinks and drive. The findings have prompted the Council’s road safety unit to warn motorists about the dangers of drinking even a small amount of alcohol before driving. It co-incides with the national Christmas campaign ‘You can’t calculate your alcohol limit, so don’t try.’
“Some drivers are aware that the drink drive limit is 80 milligram's of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. However everyone has a different idea as to how much that actually is. When asked how to measure what can safely be drunk and still drive, most drivers quoted ‘units’ as their guide. When asked how much a unit was the response varied from one glass of wine to one or two pints of beer! The problem is that there are so many variations to take into account that it is impossible to know how much alcohol will keep you under the limit,” said John Walton, Head of Road Safety at Bromley Council.
“There were some interesting ideas about how to ‘sober up’ too. Drinking plenty of coffee or water is always a popular response. So is eating food - particularly a kebab! Whilst these things may make you feel more sober it will not reduce the alcohol in your bloodstream or the alcoholic affect on your reactions. Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream so no amount of coffee, water or food will remove it. Time is the only way your body can get rid of the alcohol,” John continued.
Reasons why it can be difficult to judge the number of units include:
- Alcohol content varies in different drinks, particularly beers and wines.
- Varying glass sizes; pubs can serve wine in a 125ml measure up to 250ml.
- Your body size and metabolism
Counting ‘units’ does not work. The only safe way is to not drink any alcohol at all before driving.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- Government statistics show that
- On average 3,000 people are killed or seriously injured each year in drink drive collisions.
- In 2004 more than one in four of all deaths on the road involved drivers who are over the legal alcohol limit.
- Drinking and driving occurs across a wide range of age groups but particularly among young men aged 17-29 in both casualties and positive breath tests following a collision. The Government's most recent drink drive campaigns aims to target this group.
- The latest provisional figures from 2005, show that some 560 people were killed in crashes in which a driver was over the legal limit, 2,100 were seriously injured and 12,740 were slightly injured.
- For media enquiries, please contact Andrew Rogers, Communications Advisor, on 020-8461-7670 or Caroline Townsend, Road Safety Officer, on 020-8313-4498 or email Andrew.Rogers@bromley.gov.uk
- Further information is available at www.bromley.gov.uk/roadsafety