With leaving Cert students receiving their exam results tomorrow, a plea is being issued for their safety.
The celebrations getting ready to flow- the Mayo Road Safety Office of Mayo County Council for celebrating students to look out for each other.
'We are friends who look out for each other' is the message being promoted on social media and sent to all the Secondary Schools in the county by the office, issuing a warning that two thirds of pedestrians killed on Irish roads had been drinking; 50 per cent of them were three times over the legal drinking limit.
The aim of the campaign is to get those who walk home after drinking to realise the danger they’re putting themselves in.
The campaign is being lead by the road safety together working group of Mayo County Council, Mayo County Council Cathaoirleach, Cllr Brendan Mulroy said: "Firstly we in Mayo County Council would like to congratulate all the students on their results and wish them well in their further studies, the exam results is a period of time of increased social activity and knowing that your family or friends have made it home safely from their night out or family get together is important so please plan ahead."
Noel Gibbons road safety officer said: "In particular we want young people celebrating their results to sort their lift home before heading out to go drinking. There's no mystery here: drunk walkers are much more likely to engage in risky behavior like crossing against a sign, jaywalking, or lying down in the roadway. Intoxicated pedestrians frequently cannot fulfill the perceptual, cognitive, and physical skills required to cross safely in the complex traffic patterns seen in most urban cities."
He added that if you're lucky enough to survive the impact, healing from wounds becomes trickier when you have booze in your system. "Alcohol impairs the ability to fight infections, repair wounds, and recover from injuries." Alcohol impairs the white blood cells responsible for clearing out debris and "eating garbage" on skin wounds, so it makes recovery much slower.
The message is simple 'If you have had one too many, don't attempt to walk home - use a taxi, public transport or get a lift from a (non-drinking ) friend.'
