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CELEBRATE BUT DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE

 

Drinking and driving

The legal limit for driving is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, or 35 micrograms in 100 millilitres of breath. But there’s no sure way of telling how much you can drink before you reach this limit. It vanes with each person depending on your weight, your sex, your age, if you’ve just eaten and what sort of drinks you’ve had. Some people reach their limit after about 3 units.

In fact, your driving ability is affected by just one or two drinks. And, even if you’re below the legal limit, you can still be prosecuted if a police officer thinks your driving has been affected by alcohol.

The only way to be sure you’re safe is not to drink at all.

Facts

Alcohol is a major cause of accidents. More than half of the people breathalysed are over twice the legal limit.

One in three of the drivers killed in road accidents have levels of alcohol which are over the legal limit.

Most drinking and driving accidents happen within one mile of the driver’s home.

Young people are affected more quickly by drinking than older people. So if you’re young, its especially important not to drink and drive.

If you drink a lot in the evening, you might still be over the limit the next morning. And, if you’ve had a few drinks at lunchtime, another one or two drinks in the early evening may well put you over the legal limit. Remember that only time can remove the alcohol from your bloodstream.

HEALTH EDUCATION AUTHORITY

Determining whether you’re sleep-deprived

If you fall asleep immediately when you go to bed, you’re not getting enough sleep. It should take you 15 to 20 minutes to fall asleep, doctors say.

 If a warm room, alcoholic beverage or boring lecture makes you drowsy, you are sleep-deprived. Most people think these situations cause sleepiness, but they just unmask sleepiness, says psychologist James Maas.

If you’ve had enough sleep, a boring lecture may make you angry, irritable, bored or jittery, but it won’t make you drowsy, he says. Here are some other ways to see whether you’re sleep deprived, from Maas’ new book, Power Sleep.

If three or more of the following describe you, it’s possible that you need more sleep:

  • I need an alarm clock in order to wake up~at the appropriate time.

  • It’s a struggle for me to get out of bed in the morning.

  • I feel tired, irritable and stressed out during the week.

  • I have trouble concentrating.

  • I have trouble remembering.

  • I feel slow with critical thinking, problem solving, being creative.

  • I often fall asleep watching television.

  • I find it hard to stay awake in boring meetings or lectures, or in warm rooms.

  • I often nod off after heavy meals or after a low dose of alcohol.

  • I often feel drowsy while driving.

  • I often sleep extra hours on weekend mornings.

  • I often need a nap to get through the day.

  • I have dark circles under my eyes.