Don’t go from propping up the bar to behind bars!

The Christmas countdown is on and the festive party season is well and truly upon us.

Whether it’s a night out with work colleagues at the pub, you’re getting glammed up for the office do, or it’s a festive night out with your family – if you’re celebrating with a drink, getting a taxi or walking home, or nominating a designated driver are always the best ways to make sure you get home safely.

 We don’t want to be killjoys but getting behind the wheel when you’ve consumed alcohol is always a risk – can you be sure you’re not over the limit? Drink driving not only puts yours and other people’s lives at risk, it can carry hefty penalties, driving bans and of course a prison sentence. Is one too many at that family festive bash, really worth ruining Christmas and so much more?

The chances of getting breathalysed at this time of year will undoubtedly increase – especially with the World Cup in full swing. According to Road Safety GB, police across England and Wales breathalysed more than 37,000 drivers last December – that’s more than twice the average for the other months of the year. Last December, their figures show that a total of 3,840 drivers tested positive (or refused to provide a sample) – a failure rate of more than 10%.

Let’s not forget alcohol affects everyone differently. One person could have four pints of medium-strength lager and not tell they’ve had it (obviously they shouldn’t drive though), another could have a glass of Christmas Cosmo and it goes straight to their heads. If in any doubt don’t drive – either drink and don’t drive, or don’t drive and drink – then you know exactly where you are.

The time alcohol stays in your system really varies too. It depends on a variety of factors, including your age, weight, sex, and metabolism, the kind of alcohol you’ve drunk, how much you’ve drunk and over what time-period as well as what you’ve had to eat.

Just because you’ve slept, after a night out on the town, doesn’t mean all the alcohol you drank has left your system. There’s a realistic chance that you could still be well over the limit the morning after the party the night before.

Let’s look at how it works  – on average it takes an hour for one unit to leave your body. Even if you’ve had a good eight hours’ sleep and don’t feel hungover it can still be in your bloodstream.

And there’s absolutely nothing you can do to speed up the process – contrary to popular belief, a massive mug of coffee might make you feel slightly better the next morning, but it won’t make any difference to how much alcohol is still in your system. The only thing that can help you is time. If you’re under any doubt whatsoever the next morning, don’t risk it by getting behind the wheel.

Don’t forget the rules around drugs driving too: https://www.gov.uk/drug-driving-law

Having said all this – we won’t want to put a dampener on you enjoying the Christmas period – we just want you to be aware of dangers so that you can hit the town and get home safely.

Have an amazing Christmas and New Year – we hope you have an incredible festive season and one that’s happy, healthy and safe.

Don’t forget we can help you keep your drivers’ safe and manage your driver risk. For a full list of services and to see the training we offer please go to: www.adrianhideconsultancy.co,uk