One in five (21%) fatal road crashes that happen between 6AM and 12 noon are alcohol related. This was the main point made at the launch of a new public awareness campaign designed to highlight the dangers of drink driving in the morning hours.

The campaign from the Road Safety Authority and drinkaware.ie (MEAS) states that traditional ‘stomach liners’ or ‘cures’ wont speed up the process by which alcohol is eliminated from the body. A person gets rid of roughly one standard drink per hour. That’s half a pint, or one glass of wine, or one pub measure of spirits - per hour. So if someone has been drinking the night before the only cure is time to be confident of being a safe driver the next day.

Speaking at the launch Ms. Fionnuala Sheehan, Chief Executive of MEAS, said that to successfully combat the problem of drink driving it was important to ensure that people generally were more fully aware of the rate at which one’s body processes alcohol, and what constitutes a standard drink.

“A key focus of this year’s campaign is to highlight the ‘Morning After’ and the need for motorists to be aware of how long alcohol can stay in their system if they have been drinking the night before. The clear message of this campaign is that if you have alcohol in your system, don’t drive.”

“We also need to dispel the many myths about soakage and cures and to make people aware that when it comes to the morning after, time is the only cure for eliminating alcohol from the body”.

Mr. Gay Byrne, Chairman, Road Safety Authority said “The majority of people are doing the right thing and leaving the car keys at home when heading out for a few drinks. Thankfully this behaviour is saving lives. However there is now a new problem. These very same people are unaware that when they get behind the wheel the next morning they could still have drink in their system. They are simply unfit to drive. That’s why we are launching this campaign. To make people aware of the danger of drink driving the following morning so they can do the right thing.”

Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey, TD, said 'This Christmas I'm making a special call for all drivers to get the message on drink driving. Don’t do it. If you plan to have a few drinks over the holiday then leave the car at home and don’t forget you may still be over the limit to drive in the morning. The statistics are stark. Alcohol is a contributory factor in almost 40% of all road fatalities in Ireland. Almost 3 out of 5 fatal crashes take place on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and in the early hours of Monday morning. Don’t be the one to bring tragedy to a family this Christmas. Never ever drink and drive.'  

Emphasising that enforcement of drink driving legislation is a priority all year round, the Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said: “An Garda Síochána continues to assign considerable resources to deter and apprehend irresponsible drivers who can, and do, kill and injure themselves and others. The strength of the Garda Traffic Corps will have almost doubled from 531 in 2004 to 1,030 by the end of 2007.  

These resources will continue to be deployed to counteract drink driving.  Therefore, if people drink and drive, there is every likelihood they will be caught.  The reality, however, is that we don’t want to catch people drink driving – we want to stop people drink driving. 

We will meet our responsibilities and enforce the law. Individuals must face up to their responsibilities and stop reckless behaviour which endangers themselves, their families, friends and neighbours, and indeed other innocent road users.”

The RSA and drinkaware.ie (MEAS) campaign includes two new 30 second radio adverts. The first advert will be aired in the evening and warns that “if you’re drinking tonight, you might be over the limit to drive tomorrow morning – and no ‘soakage’ can prevent that!”. The second ad will be broadcast in the morning and warns that “if you went drinking last night, you might be over the limit to drive this morning – and no “cure” can fix that!”

Both adverts will air on national and local radio stations for six weeks. The campaign is also being supported by poster activity in washrooms of pubs and clubs nationwide. A handy ATM sized information card has also been produced which can be used to fill out details of local taxi / hackney companies. An Garda Síochána will hand out these info cards at check points over the Christmas period. The cards distribution is being supported by Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Superquinn, ESB, DIT, LVA, VFI, NoFFLA, FBD Insurance, St. Paul Travelers Insurance and Topaz.

To understand how alcohol affects the body visit the website www.drinkaware.ie. It has been developed by MEAS and has practical tips on getting home safely.

Key Drink Driving Statistics

1. Alcohol was a factor in 36.5% of all fatal crashes in 2003
2. Driver/ rider alcohol was a factor in 28% of fatal crashes
3. One in five (21%) fatal road crashes that happen between 6AM and 12 noon are alcohol related. (Alcohol in Fatal Road Crashes in Ireland in 2003, HSE).
4. Alcohol was a factor in 62% of single-vehicle, single-occupant fatal crashes
5. Pedestrian alcohol was a factor in 38% of fatal pedestrian road crashes.
6. Weekends through to Monday morning (the morning-after effect) is the killing zone for alcohol related fatal crashes.
7. The number of intoxicated arrests since the 1st August 2006 to the 31st October 2007 is 24,255.