When ignorance isn't bliss
We have all seen the horrendous adverts from the comfort of the sofa and they have obviously had a huge impact. If you've seen them before, it may even be necessary to grab the remote as quickly as possible and hold your breath until you've found another station.
The graphic images that pop up every now and then of untimely deaths, paralysis, brain trauma etc mean that only complete morons still believe that being drunk behind the wheel is an OK thing to do.
There are anti-binge drinking adverts which state: "You don't have to be drunk to be doing real damage" and that ethos carries over to drink driving too. There is a degree of naivety regarding what is safe to drink when you are planning to get behind the wheel and safety campaigners are now appealing to the '1 - 3 pint' drivers.
The PSNI arrested 69 drink-drivers over the Easter weekend. That figure is down from last year's 85 arrests
David Lyle, of Lyle Bailie International - which makes anti-drink drive ads - said the arrests were evidence that "the message is getting through".
He said: "There has been a complete culture change in Northern Ireland over the past few years. I am delighted that the police have caught 69 people and that they are going to be put through the courts. It is important that people understand that if they drink and drive they are going to be caught.
"Nine out of 10 people in Northern Ireland believe that drink-driving is extremely shaming - so one out of 10 people don't.
"There is still this minority of nutters and that is why the police have to keep going to catch them."
Some people are still unaware of what can happen if you are caught drink driving. I was until I started attending court on as part of my job here at the 'Journal'. There is a belief, which has no grounding in reality, that people will get away with it as long as they don't kill or maim someone. They can convince themselves that 'the worst case scenario' of killing someone is so unlikely that it will never happen to them.
We are brilliant at deceiving ourselves - "Sure, I'm only up the road. I can drive home in two minutes" or "I only had a couple of pints with my lunch, the cops aren't gonna breathalyse me at two o'clock in the afternoon!"
There may be a sneaky, attraction in the minds of some drivers to the belief that they are "getting away" with something - that if their exploits go unpunished or un-noticed, they have gained a small victory. But it's a very dangerous game to play.
The problem is, there is no failsafe guide as to how to stay under the legal alcohol limit or how much you can drink and still drive safely.
It depends on your weight, sex, age, metabolism, stress levels, an empty stomach and the amount and type of alcohol.
Even if you are sober, those two or three pints can have an enormously negative impact on your life. You don’t even need to crash into anything to feel the effects in months and years to come!
The convenience of taking the car pales into insignificance when the reality of a drink drive conviction hits home.
If you are caught, breathalysed and found to be over the legal limit the maximum penalty is 6 months imprisonment, or a fine of 5,000 or both, and you will be banned from driving for at least 12 months.
The silly little things that drivers take for granted will be out the window - picking up the kids from school, nipping to the shops at the last minute, and if your job requires you to drive...then you can start looking for new employment.
Unless you’re financially very well-off, you can forget about driving for quite some time after your ban has been lifted. You’ll have to do your test all over again and your new insurance fees will look remarkably similar to the GDP of a small African nation. And you won’t even have had to hit anything. It’s a terrifying prospect, but that’s the best it gets.
If your drink driving causes death or grievous bodily injury, the maximum penalty is 14 years imprisonment and you’ll be banned from driving for at least 2 years. Think about that - fourteen years. In prison - for fourteen years, for the sake of a couple of jars.
That’s a horrifying prospect and doesn’t even factor in the emotional trauma that your actions will inflict on you, your family, and your victim’s family.
The law is the same for drug driving - the driver is taking the same risks if he/she substitute those pints for a spliff or two. It’s a horrible thought to have to try and comprehend and I was blissfully unaware until recently. Ignorance, in this case, is definitely not bliss.
Bike trek
On a much cheerier note, big congratulations to Conor Lynch and all the chaps/chapettes who recently travelled to South Africa on a Bike Trek for Children in Crossfire. Well done folks - fantastic effort!
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Derry
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South east
