Minister of Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar, has lent his support to the launch of the drinkaware.ie/Road Safety Authority ‘Morning After’ campaign for Christmas. With the recent arrival of the new lower drink-driving limits, it has never been more important to remember the morning after.
Speaking at the launch Minister Varadkar said, “The overall message remains ‘don’t drink and drive’. I am asking people who intend to drive the morning after a night out to be conscious of the amount they had to drink, and of the time it takes for alcohol to pass through a person’s system. The presence of alcohol in the system impairs driving abilities. If you’re in doubt, don’t drive and find an alternative means of travelling.”
As people get ready for the festive season Fionnuala Sheehan, chief executive of drinkaware.ie, commented, “The reality is that it takes our bodies about an hour to get rid of one standard drink. A standard drink is equal to a glass of beer/cider, a small glass of wine, or a pub measure of spirits. That means a pint contains two standard drinks and a home measure of spirits or wine may contain two to three standard drinks.
“This December we want people to think about the ‘morning after’ when they get in their cars to go to work, go shopping, and visit friends or family. No amount of coffee, energy drinks, cold showers or breakfast rolls will speed up the elimination of alcohol from our systems. You might feel better afterwards, but that doesn’t mean you’re fit to drive. The message from drinkaware.ie is to take responsibility for your drinking, do the maths the morning after and if you think you still have alcohol in your system then don’t risk driving. Equally, the message to passengers is not to get in a car with anyone who you think is not safe to drive.”
