With Christmas drawing closer, the danger of drink driving will heighten considerably.  Driving whilst under the influence of alcohol is incredibly dangerous, yet many people still do it each year, and it’s more prevalent during the Christmas holidays, with all the work parties and Christmas celebrations.

Drink driving is a serious offence, which can lead to some tragic consequences.  You can get points on your license, or even get it taken off you completely.  In the worst case scenario, drink driving can end with loss of life for you, your passengers, and anyone else involved.  So make sure you think about the safety of yourself and everyone around you this Christmas.

Of course this may feel frustrating, as everyone wants to be able to relax and enjoy themselves over the Christmas period.  So we’ve posted a couple of tips which give you the drink driving facts, and will help you enjoy your festive celebrations whilst also keeping safe.

• If you’re planning on drinking any alcohol, then the best thing to do is to leave your car at home.  Arrange a taxi in advance or plan to stay at a friend’s house instead.
• If you do plan on having a drink, you can also find a designated driver beforehand.  Taking turns between friends and family to be the designated driver means that everyone gets the chance to enjoy themselves.
• If you’re the designated driver for you, your friends and family, make sure your car is safe too.  You can take your car in for regular car servicing to keep things in top shape.  Prestige car servicing is also an option if you have a prestige vehicle.
• It doesn’t take much alcohol to be over the limit.  The legal limit is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, but this is hard to judge after you’ve had a drink.  Units of alcohol also differs for men and women.  The NHS recommended alcohol unit limit for men is 3-4 per day and 2-3 units per day for women.
• Alcohol affects your judgement of speed and distance whilst driving, and slows down your reactions too.  This means it will take you longer to slow down, which is very dangerous.
• Alcohol brings a false sense of confidence, so you may find yourself more likely to make bad decisions, such as thinking you’re sober enough or careful enough to drive home.
• Even if you don’t end up causing an accident, you can still get pulled over by the police and be made to do a breath test with a breathalyser.
• If you get caught, you could lose your license, be fined, end up paying higher rates for your car insurance, and even spend some time in prison.
• You can still be affected by alcohol the morning after you’ve been drinking, so bear this in mind before you get behind the wheel again.  It’ll take at least 12 hours for the alcohol to fully leave your system, depending on how much you drank the night before.  Also if you have a hangover, you won’t be able to drive at your full ability either.  And you can still get pulled over and made to take a breathalyser test the next day.
• Remember that alcohol affects people in different ways.  It all depend on height, age, weight, metabolism, the type of alcohol and the amount drank.  So while one person may be able to have a drink and feel fine, another may feel very tipsy in comparison.

If you practice safe drinking during the Christmas period, then you should be able to enjoy the festivities without putting yourself in any danger.