Times Have changed. and no-one thinks drink driving is funny any more
None for the road
ENGAGE
Summer is the season to be merry, but leave the car at home. As Andrew Burnet discovers, you really don’t want to get caught drink-driving.
rom kick-off. in Munich thix
I-‘riday' until the filial w'hixtle
hlow.x in Berlin a month later. Scottish police will he keeping their eye on the hall. Not in (iermany. where British f‘oothall laiix will douhtless he on their hext hehayiour. htit here. on the .xtreetx ol‘ Scotland‘x cities and towns. They‘ll he concentrating on puhx that are .xerecning matches. and keeping a close eye on anyone heading for a car. keys in hand.
Drink-driying ix a .xeriou.x prohlem in Scotland. according to Michael McDonnell. director oli Road Salcty Scotland. It cauxex around St) deathx annually. and many more xerioux injuries. And it‘x at its worst at thix
time of year. Although the midw inter
lex'tiye .xea.xon i.x notorioux l'or
tempting people to drink and driye. in
many paitx of' Scotland midxummer
i.x eyen w'orxe. ‘I’eople are going for a game of' golf‘ or tennix. and they haye a pint on the way home; or there are harheeues and that type of‘ thing.’
explains McDonnell. .-\nd then of
courxe. some f‘olk.x like to enjoy a few heers while watching the game.
One key prohlem ix a phenomenon known as ‘contriyed compulsion‘.
HOW TO CALCULATE UN
of alcohol by yolume l .‘ .ih.~
taps blackboards. For vane. assume ‘ ‘ .: Volume of drink in millilitres (ml) [times] a v [
()riginally‘ coined hy the ['8 thriller— writer Michael Crichton. the phraxe dexcrihex a xituation which compelx
an indiyidual to hehaye otit of
character. In ximple tcrmx. it comex down to a ximplc dilemma: he had a few. htit my car‘x oulxide and I'll need it to gel to work in the morning.
'I'oday'K drinkerx tend to make a rixk a.x.xexxment. xayx .\Ic|)onncll. ‘\\'e know from rexearch that moxt people dixmixx the rixk oi heing imolyed in a crash. Although they ‘ye
WHENEVER POLICE ATTEND A ROAD ACCIDENT, BOTH DRIVERS ARE BREATHALYSED
hcen drinking. they think they'll he ahle to adjuxt their driying xtyle to compenxate. What they often do not conxidei' ix the rixk of heing caught. .-\nd of courxe il~ they ‘ye had enough to drink they 're not really in a poxitlon to a.x.xexx the l'ixkx at aII.‘
ITS OF ALCOHOL
You can work out fOi yoursel' hoe.
i5\Il:>i\‘.I‘.KZ\I .,' .1 I .Lt‘?‘ .1 '
ded by] 1000 : units
So for example a 330ml bottle of beer With 5 x at. . “his. "s of. x '
1.65 units.
102 THE LIST 5—2.5 Jan QCfis
If they did. they id conic tip againxt xome harxh lactx: not leaxt of which ix a mandatory twchc-month driy ing han. .-\nd getting caught ix not juxt down to had luck. “I‘he police are way good at targeting drinkdriycrx.‘ xayx .\Icl)onnell. "()hxerying hehayiour that lookx innocuoux. htit which to police ix an indication that their driy ing ix impaired hy drink.‘
.~\ minor prang could lead to proxecution too. \Vheneyer police attend a road accident. hoth di‘iyerx are automatically hrcalhalyxed.
'I'he hext way of ayoiding the whole prohlem ix ad\ancc planning. ady ixex McDonnell. "I‘hc decixionx can't he made when you're in the puh: they haye to he made helore you get there.‘
One complication. he addx. ix that you may xtill he oycr the limit in the morning it you‘ye had a wry hcayy xexxion. "I'lteiex a [k‘rception that once you'ye had good night‘x xleep that'll he it. hut of courxe the rate at
which alcohol dixappcarx from your
hody \ariex.' he e\plainx. "I‘he majority of drink-driyerx are caught
at night. hut the police are aware of
the morning—after prohlem and it ix xomething they ‘re looking out forf
lingland and Paraguay they‘re hoth good teamx. But if' you're planning to gamhle thix weekend. do it at the hookie‘x. not on the roadx.
www.road-safety.org.uk /publicity/drink driving/fact sheet/asp, www.alcohol-focus- scotland.org.uk
Reasons not to be hoe/ml while driving;
I The legal limit for drivers is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
I It is very difficult to determine how much you can drink Without exctx'xling the legal limit. Various factors Will affect it. including body weight, absorption rate lwhich may he affecttxf by a full stomach, for examplei and gender. As a very rough guide. an average— s‘i/ed man Will normally be ()\.(3l the limit after two pints of beer.
I Any amount of alcohol consumed Will impair your (Invnrtg to some degree.
I Approximately one person a week is killed in Scotland as a result of drink diiVing,
I Public tolerance of drink drivmg is very low. Employees of pubs and fast-food takeaways who Witness drunk people nging away from their premises are encouraged to report them,
I Sobering up can take many hours. Black coffee. heavy meals. fresh air and slaps in the puss do not help. You may still be ever the limit the morning after a heavy drinking sess‘ion.
I You will lose your licence for at least a year if you are conwcted of drink-drivmg. Exceptions to this rule are extremely rare. When you do get it back. it Will carry an endorsement for a further ten years.
I You may face a heavy fine too. (T hat two home would have been a lot cheaper.)
I You will have a criminal record for at least 20 years after a drink-drivmg conViction. If you are Jailed for a drink-drivmg offence. it Will remain on your rec0rd until you are 70.
I Your insurance premiums Will rocket after a drink-driving coanhon.
I Renting a car can be problematic after a drink-drivmg conviction.