RSA "Morning After" Christmas Driving Campaign

The Road Safety Authority has launched its annual Christmas Driving Campaign. The Morning After campaign advises drivers to remember how much that have had to drink the night before. According to the RSA 400 drink driving incidents took place between 8am and 1pm during the first 9 months of the year. Drivers are reminded that it takes one hour for the body to rid itself of one standard drink (half pint, small glass of wine and a measure of spirits).

Official Garda figures state that 400 detections of drivers under the influence of alcohol from 8am to 1pm between January and September 2013. Of those 400 101 occurred on a Saturday, 208 occurred on a Sunday and 91 on a Monday. At 16% 30-34 year olds were the most likely to be under the influence with those in their 80s being least likely at 0.2%, though it is likely that the 80 year olds were still in bed sensibly recovering from the night before.

The campaign will be delivered through high profile ad campaigns on national and local radio. Digital media Facebook, Entertainment.ie and The Jornal.

The campaign is run in conjunction with drinkaware.ie.

Fionnuala Sheehan, Chief Executive of drinkaware.ie commented, “Most of us would never plan to drink and drive but the reality is that many of us will be celebrating over Christmas and won’t think about what we drank the night before when we get in the car the following morning.”

John Caulfield, Interim Chief Executive, the Road Safety Authority commented, ““The majority of people are doing the right thing and leaving the car keys at home when heading out for a few drinks. There is no doubt this behaviour is saving lives. However there is now a new problem. These very same people are unaware that with the introduction of the new lower drink drive limits, when they get behind the wheel the next morning they could still have alcohol in their system, and still be unfit to drive. That’s why this campaign is so important. We want to make people aware of the danger of drink driving the following morning so they can continue to do the right thing.”

Con O’Donohue, Garda National Traffic Bureau commented, “We are reminding the public that when out enjoying the Christmas period, they should never put themselves in a position where they risk driving with alcohol in their system. The ‘Morning After’ campaign is an important reminder to anyone who has been out celebrating that they may be unfit to drive because they still have alcohol in their system, and may even be over the drink drive limit the following morning. Any alcohol impairs driving and increases the risk of being involved in a collision. Combine even a small amount of alcohol in your system with tiredness after a late night out and the risk of being involved in a collision is even higher. Gardaí will be playing its part in trying to ensure it is a safe Christmas on our roads and as part of this will be carrying out breath tests throughout the country. ”