MVRUS - Alcohol and the Road User

Alcohol and the Person

Alcohol is readily available today and can be easily obtained at numerous off-licences, pubs and supermarkets. Drinking habits have changed, with approximately 33% of people drinking at home. The price of alcohol has not risen with inflation and the range of drinks now available is large indeed. Drinking at home has many advantages but also has disadvantages. You do not have to dress up and go out to pay bar prices. You can choose your company and closing hours. What may seem to many to be desirable does have its downside. In a pub or club, drinks are carefully measured whereas, at home one drink may be equivalent to two or even three pub drinks.

Regular drinking can become a habit and can lead to drinking more than is good for you. More accidents happen to drinkers e.g. falls,fires and injuries. Any person who drinks needs to be aware of the following:

Alcoholic drinks come in many different varieties, strengths and containers. This makes it difficult to work out exactly how much alcohol is contained in a drink. It is often easier to measure alcohol in units. Some drinks now show this on the label.

What is a safe amount to have?

In 1995 the Government revised the sensible drinking message to provide the public with a guide to the number of units of alcohol which they recommended should not be exceeded at any one time. For men, a regular consumption of between 3 and 4 units of alcohol a day (by men of all ages) will not accrue to a significant health risk. For women a regular consumption of between 2 and 3 units of alcohol a day (by women of all ages) will not accrue to a significant health risk. The guide does not recommend that one should drink alcohol. It is important to note that regular drinking does carry a progressive health risk for both men and women.

How your body processes alcohol

Food is digested by the body whereas alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream. The speed at which the alcohol is absorbed depends on many things e.g. gender, weight, state of health etc. It takes the body roughly 1 hour to process one unit of alcohol. Therefore, it is possible to be over the legal limit for driving the morning after a heavy drinking session.

Associated risks related to the misuse of alcohol are social, psychological and physical.

Thanks to the Health Promotion Agency for supplying the information for this section. For additional information on alcohol and health related matters visit The Health Promotion Agency site.

The best advice is never to allow alcohol to become a problem. There are some simple solutions. If socialising will involve drinking then "forward plan":

In this way you will avoid all the consequences of drinking and driving.

For more information, visit the Drink Drive campaign on the Road Safety Publicity Section of this Site.