Limitless? Not when it comes to drinking and driving

Monday, 4 January, 2016
Wine.co.za
It seems almost natural for celebrations in life to include alcohol. A lazy weekend looks so much better with a glass of wine in hand and visiting the winelands and tasting SA's great wines is a great day out but are we being mindful enough of our actions when having a drink and are we getting home safely?

According to ARA, Drunk Driving is one of the biggest threats to Road Safety in South Africa. Research indicates that 50% of people who die on the roads have a blood alcohol concentration above 0.05 gram per 100 millilitres.

South Africa continues to have a very high rate of traffic accident fatalities with an estimated 18 000 deaths annually and much of it can be put down to the fatal combination of alcohol and driving.

With this in mind, it's imperative that precautions are taken to ensure that whilst you enjoy your alcoholic beverages, you don't put yourself or others in danger.

What can you do to be safe? 

• Don't go to an event/party/wine trip without knowing how you're getting home. Plan for every eventuality.

• Fill your stomach with food. We all know that drink affects us much quicker if we haven't had anything substantial to eat. Carb up my friends.

• Don’t ever accept drinks from strangers. Too many tragic spiking incidents have happened and can be avoided by watching your beverage when out.

• Enjoy your drinks slowly because it’s all about quality and not quantity. Shots were made to give you headaches.

• Know your limit: You are not Superman...unless of course you are and then we should be friends.

• Always respect those who don't drink.  Don't be that irritating person who tries to force others to drink around you.

• Don’t drink and drive.


And what is the limit?

According to the law, your blood may not have an alcohol content of more than 0.05%. So what does this mean for your choice of tipple?

To stay under the legal limit, you can have in one night:

- Two thirds of a beer or spirit cooler with 5% alcohol content.
- 75ml of red or white wine per hour with an alcohol content of 12% to 14% is acceptable.
- And for whisky and brandy lovers, you may drink up to one 25ml tot of alcohol per hour.

I don't know about you, but I regularly go over the limit when it comes to wine so having transport sorted before I start drinking is a must. A simple way to avoid any issues would be to just drink wine at home.

How can you get home safely?

Nowadays there really is no excuse for ever getting behind the wheel of a car with alcohol in your blood. Numerous taxi and transport services exist to get you home or to your next destinaton safely. Here are just a few options:

Uber

Goodfellas

Miway

Scooter Angels

Most banks offer a take-me-home service so check with yours

A pregnant friend

Your mum