The Dangers of Drinking Over the Holidays [Infographic]

Tom Bowers http://www.barlowrobbins.com 4m 902 #drinkdriving

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

Just Say No To Drinking and Driving

Think Before You Drink!

Barlow Robbins has created the following infographic to help raise awareness about The Dangers of Drinking Over the Holidays and Drink Driving.

As you know, the festive period can be a difficult time for commuters to get the balance right between celebrating the holidays and responsible drinking. The holidays are a time we all like to over-indulge and enjoy ourselves with friends and family, but sometimes the lines between our responsibilities become a little blurred.

From Christmas until the New Year, drinking is a common occasion and everyone has places to be, things to do, and people to see, so getting into an automobile and driving from one place to another may not be a second thought for some, even if they have only had one drink. Unfortunately, just as a car accident can occur in the blink of an eye, one drink is all it could take to be considered drinking under the influence of alcohol.

Drunk driving still continues to claim thousands of lives each year, causing thousands of dollars in irreparable damage and causing unnecessary and unneeded suffering in the process, despite harsh penalties placed upon drunk drivers and the guilt of harming or killing someone while under the influence. Just because you are drunk and do not remember does not mean you are innocent of the damage you have done. You are as guilty sober as you were drunk.

If you are going to drink, even just one drink, wait until you are sobered up.  This sober calculator will determine how long you need to wait and sober up before you can safely get in a car and drive home. If you are over a loved one or friend’s home, consider handing over your keys if you cannot wisely make the decision that you should not drive. If you are at a bar, restaurant, or club, consider calling a family member, friend, or a cab to take you home. The extra few dollars spent on a ride home will save your life and possibly someone else’s as well as save you the trouble of a life of misery, prison time, and massive penalties that will never be expunged from your record.

The penalties are harsh in every state and expect to pay no less than $25,000, loss of license, and being left to figure out how you will make it to work, or why you made such a stupid mistake and cost someone their life.

If you have any drink containing alcohol, just don’t even think about operating a motor vehicle until the effects of alcohol have worn off.

Over the Christmas and New Years period, it is more important than ever that drivers are aware of the risk of drunk driving and driving the day after a night out on the town.

Kind regards and safe driving,

Tom Bowers

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ARE YOU DRINK DRIVING THE MORNING AFTER?

Most people don’t realize that alcohol can remain in the blood even after waking up the next day. With Christmas just around the corner, parties and celebrations are on the rise. When you’re driving home for Christmas this year, make sure you are sober and safe on the road.

If you’re driving in the UK, the legal limit is 35mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath.

There’s no way of saying how much you can drink before you reach the limit.

The amount you can handle depends on a number of variables.

On average, you break down one unit of alcohol per hour, but it all depends on:

• Age: As people age, they may become more sensitive to alcohol’s effects. [Source: http://www.medicinenet.com/]
• Gender: Women tend to be more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol than men. [Source: https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/]
• Lack of Sleep: Being awake for 24 hours straight has a similar effect on driving to being over the limit – even if no alcohol was consumed. [Source: https://www.mattressclarity.com/blog/everything-about-drowsy-driving]
• Alcohol Concentration: Higher alcohol concentration means that more alcohol enters the system. The time taken to absorb each unit increases by 50% if more than 11 units are consumed. [Source: http://respectyourself.org.uk/how-long-does-alcohol-stay-in-my-system]

What this means is that you could still be over the limit the day after your Christmas party – even if you think you’re feeling OK.

To illustrate our point, we’ve created a timeline.

One party, twin brothers. One has a sensible night, while the other stays out drinking all night. See how the story unfolds.

START

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WELL HELLO, I’M CLEVER CLYDE | HI THERE, I’M IRRESPONSIBLE ROB

STARTED DRINKING | 8 PM | STARTED DRINKING

STILL PARTYING | 9 PM – 12 AM | STILL PARTYING

GOES HOME TO BED WITH A GLASS OF WATER | 1:00 AM | GOES OUTSIDE TO SMOKE WITH ANOTHER DRINK

SLEEPING | 2:00 AM | ONE MORE DRINK BEFORE HOME TIME…

SLEEPING | 3:00 AM | SLEEPING

ASLEEP UNTIL MORNING | 4 AM – 7 AM | ASLEEP UNTIL MORNING

WAKES UP AND HAS BREAKFAST | 7 AM – 10 AM | WAKES UP AND HAS BREAKFAST

DRIVING SAFELY BUT SLIGHTLY TIRED | 11:00 AM | ROB IS STILL OVER THE LIMIT, AND BY DRIVING IS BREAKING THE LAW

DRINK-DRIVING LEADS TO BIG MISTAKES.

DON’T BE LIKE IRRESPONSIBLE ROB.

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HEAVY NIGHTS LEADS TO DANGEROUS DRIVING.

MAKE SURE YOU’RE DRIVING SAFE THIS CHRISTMAS.

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Source: http://www.barlowrobbins.com/resources/drink-driving-when-hungover

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