Get the facts to help keep our roads safe this bank holiday with Drinkaware

DRINKAWARE, the national charity working to prevent and reduce alcohol misuse, is providing advice and tips to stay safe this October Bank Holiday. 

With Halloween fast approaching, many of us are looking forward to spending time with friends and family and a little ‘trick-or-treating'. 

Ahead of the bank holiday weekend and Halloween celebrations, Drinkaware, the national charity working to prevent and reduce alcohol misuse, wants to remind people of the dangers of driving the morning after drinking and provide helpful information, tips, and advice on how to safely socialise.   

The Drinkaware Annual Barometer 2022, found that over 8 in 10 adults (87%) agree that any amount of alcohol impairs your ability to drive.

Figures released by An Garda Síochána reveal that there has been an increase in Irish road deaths in 2023.

Tragically, 155 lives have been lost on Irish roads so far due to speeding, collisions, drink/drug driving, careless & wreck less driving.  

This year, we have seen an increase in deaths on our roads.

Drink driving is preventable.

This bank holiday weekend, Drinkaware is providing some information that may help keep yourself and your loved ones safe.  

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 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.  

As the days get darker, the roads can be more dangerous with rain and ice, so it is more important than ever to drive safely and look out for each other on the roads.

The Drinkaware drinks calculator helps you keep track of how many standard drinks you have had, how that compares to the HSE low-risk weekly guidelines, and an estimate as to how long it may take your body to process the alcohol.  

With the Halloween festivities approaching it is important to be alert at the wheel.

Set a positive example to children and others by never, ever drinking and driving, and role model positive Halloween celebrations without alcohol.

Use a measure when having a drink at home, it can be easy to drink more than you might have planned.

Using a drinks measure helps you keep track of how much you are drinking.

A free measuring cup can be ordered online here. 

Drink plenty of water: Alcohol causes dehydration. Try to alternate each alcoholic drink with a glass of water.

Keep a jug of water on the table to make this easier. 

Stock up on alcohol alternatives, there are so many low and no-alcohol wines, spirits, and beers available these days.

So, it is a great time to make the swap to an alcohol-free alternative. 

Make sure to eat before you drink, always provide food if you are hosting a small gathering of friends or family. 

Chris Ó Lorcáin , Director of Communications for Drinkaware commented; "87% of people agree that any amount of alcohol impairs your ability to drive and the drink driving in Ireland page on the Drinkaware website is consistently in our top three most viewed pages. This year, we have seen over 66,000 page views on the Drink Driving in Ireland page and over 197,000 users of the Drinkaware drinks calculator. This clearly highlights that the public want to do the right thing and get the facts before getting behind the wheel of a car. However, statistics show that road accidents in Ireland typically increase over bank holiday weekends. The RSA have reported that 64 people have been killed or seriously injured in October Bank Holiday collisions between 2016-2020.  We want to provide people with the practical information and tips to help them stay safe on the roads this October Bank Holiday."