Road Safety Week 2009 - Special on-line only feature

NOT A DROP, NOT A DRAG

STAY SOBER, SAVE LIVES

That's the theme of this year's Road Safety Week 23^rd-29^th November 2009?

Given that there have been so many awareness-raising campaigns about the dangers of drink driving, it is worrying that some people continue to drink and drive, both after drinking and the morning after drinking. The deaths still happen on our roads

It is equally worrying that some drivers drive after taking illegal drugs. Illegal drugs can stay in your system for weeks or even months - it just isnt possible to have driving and illegal drugs in your life at the same time.

In Road Safety Week 09, Brake is calling on all drivers to commit to not drinking a drop of alcohol before driving, nor take even a drag on a joint or any other illegal drug. Brake even asks communities to help the police if they know information relating to drunk and drugged drivers to help save a life.

THE CARNAGE

At least 15,935 people in the UK were killed or hurt by drink and drug-drivers in 2007 (latest available data). Thats: 1,328 people every month, 306 people every week, 44 people every day, 2 people every hour.

Why not promise yourself and your family that you will never be the cause od carnage on the roads? Here's a Certificate of Promise for you to download and sign as evidence of that commitment.

FACTS ABOUT DRINK DRIVING

A shocking one in six deaths on our roads are caused by drivers over the legal alcohol limit. In the UK, 478 people were killed by drivers over the drink-drive limit in 2007. Women are much less likely than men to cause drink drive crashes. However, nearly a third of the casualties in drink drive crashes are women; often passengers in cars driven by young men.

Nearly one in six convicted drink-drivers are caught the morning after.

Although accurate drug-driving figures arent available, research by TRL, the transport research agency, suggests that similar, if not higher, numbers of deaths may be due to illegal drug drivers. Researchers found 17% of drivers who die in road crashes (almost one in five) have traces of illegal drugs in their system that may have affected their driving.

TRL also found that almost 6% of drivers (one in 17 drivers) who die in road crashes have traces of medicinal drugs that may have affected their driving.

If you drive at twice the legal alcohol limit you are at least 30 times more likely to cause a road crash than a driver who hasnt been drinking. Your reaction times are slower after just one drink. You cant judge speed or distances accurately, youre over-confident and you make bad decisions. Its impossible to calculate exactly how much alcohol is in your system or whether youre over the drink-drive limit.

FACTS ABOUT DRUG DRIVING

Illegal drugs can affect a drivers behaviour and body in all sorts of dangerous and unpredictable ways, including: slower reaction times, poor concentration, sleepiness/fatigue, confused thinking, distorted perception and over-confidence. Drugs can stay in your system for weeks, even months. If you drive, never take any illegal drugs.

Cannabis: You have slow reaction times and struggle to do two tasks at once (like change gear and steer straight). Combining cannabis with alcohol magnifies its effect. Cannabis strengths vary wildly. Even one joint can affect you for up to four hours.

Ecstasy: On ecstasy you have blurred vision and cant judge distance or speed. You might suffer extreme emotions that are lethal behind the wheel, like anxiety and paranoia. The effects of ecstasy can last 12 hours, but tiredness from being up all night can affect you for days.

Cocaine: You are confident but erratic, likely to take risks, may suffer from paranoia, and even hallucinate. Combining cocaine and alcohol can be lethal behind the wheel. Intense effects of cocaine last about an hour, but after-effects can last much longer.

Speed: Amphetamines make you over-excited, restless and can lead to risk-taking. You may experience strong emotions like fear, panic and aggression. You may get dizzy or collapse. The effects can last more than four hours.

LSD: You are likely to suffer from hallucinations, delusions, dizziness, nausea, blurred vision, poor control and confused thinking a killer combination.

Heroin: You are sluggish, sleepy and unable to control a vehicle. Strong effects can last for 24 hours.

Over the counter drugs: Always check that prescription or over-the-counter medication is safe to drive on. Check the label or with your pharmacist or doctor. If in doubt, dont drive on medication.

BRAKE's ADVICE:

* Never drink any amount of alcohol if youre driving

* Never drink late at night if youre driving early the next morning

* If you plan to drive many hours after drinking, count your units and over-estimate how long it will take to sober up. Use Brakes morning after calculator in the alcohol section of our 2young2die website.

*The speed at which alcohol is absorbed into your system (and how quickly your system gets rid of it) depends on many factors including your weight, metabolism, health and when you last ate. So its very difficult to predict accurately how long it will take to sober up - always over-estimate.

* Never buy alcohol for someone who is driving.

DID YOU KNOW ?

If you kill someone after drink or drug driving, you could go to prison for 14 years for the offence of causing death by careless driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Even if you dont kill someone but are caught, you could face six months in prison, a one year ban and a £5,000 fine. And if you think you wont get caught, think again. More than half a million breath tests for alcohol are carried out each year and the police can test you for drugs at the roadside and again at the station. Some drugs can still be traced in your system more then a month after you took them, depending on various factors.

Find out more at www.roadsafetyweek.org

DRINK & DRUG DRIVING

Some surveys and research findings

One in five (21%) young drivers aged 17-18 admits driving on drink or drugs.
(UK survey by Brake and Cooperative Insurance.)

Young drivers are more likely to think there is no chance of being caught if they drink and drive. (UK research by Brake.)

7 in 10 people would support reducing the UKs drink drive limit to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, (Online survey of 2,010 people by More Than Insurance and YouGov.)

Eye movement associated with steering is slower even after small amounts of alcohol, (study by Manchester Metropolitan University.)

Thrill-seeking men aged 27 are more likely to admit to driving on cannabis and crash, (study by the University of Montreal.

Driving under the influence of cannabis may now be a greater risk to young driver safety than drink driving, (a study by the University

This article was created on Monday, 23rd November 2009. It was last tinkered with on Tuesday, 17th May 2011.

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