Drinkaware issues drink-driving advice for February bank holiday

Kenneth Fox

Drinkaware, the national independent charity working to prevent and reduce alcohol misuse, is providing advice and tips to stay safe this February bank holiday.

With this year marking the first official year of the new February bank holiday with St Brigid's day, they said people are looking forward to the short break after the long cold month of January.

Ahead of the bank holiday weekend, Drinkaware, wants to remind people of the dangers of driving the morning after drinking.

They are highlighting the Drinkaware drinks calculator as a useful tool to keep track of how many drinks someone has had and providing an estimation of how long it will take their body to process alcohol.

The interest in the calculator clearly indicates people want to keep track of their consumption and be more aware of the impact alcohol can have, whether it be the time it takes to process, the sugar content, standard drinks or the impact on their bank balance.

The Drinkaware Annual Barometer 2022, found 87 per cent of people agree that any amount of alcohol impairs your ability to drive, yet, research carried out by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) in 2020 revealed that 25 per cent of motorists agreed "there were times when they have been over the limit the morning after a night out."

Figures released by the RSA revealed an increase of 13 per cent in road fatalities in 2022, due to speeding, collisions, drink/drug driving, and careless & reckless driving.

Sunday was noted as the most dangerous day with almost half of all fatalities occurring between 12pm–8pm and 17 per cent taking place between 8am and 12pm.

They said to know the facts on driving ‘the morning after’:

• It takes at least one hour to process one standard drink;
• Examples of a standard drink are, half a pint of beer, 100ml glass of wine, or a 35.5ml measure of spirits;
• The time starts from when the last drink is finished;
• For example, if a person finished drinking at midnight, and have had 3 pints, they will have consumed 6 standard drinks. This means they need to wait at least 6 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 6am at the earliest;
• The only way to remove alcohol from your system is time, no amount of food or water will speed up the process. Neither will the common myths of showering, eating a large breakfast, coffee, energy drinks or exercise.

With the bank holiday approaching it is important to be alert at the wheel. They are telling people to set a positive example to children and others by never, ever drinking and driving.