DEADLINES

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 284, 25 April 1989, Page 8

DEADLINES

A special Bulletin/Community Newsp Association report on road carnage

The so-called silly season may be over, but the traffic department and police will soon be out in force again to catch the drinking driver.

It seems prudent to outline just what you can and can't get away with, in plain English - so you'll know how you're likely to get on when it's your turn to blow into the bag. The present drinkdriving laws says you must not drive or attempt to drive with a

breath alcohol concentration of more than 500 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. Imagine an empty litre bottle with half a millilitre of water in the bottom - a small splash. The air in the bottle is your breath; the water is the alco-

hol. What you see is the maximum allowable concentration. Not a lot, is it? But more than that can put you away! The maximum allowable blood alcohol concentration is 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood. The litre bottle again - a blood sample would fill about a tenth of that. Multiply it 10 times again for clarity's sake. If that bottle is filled 8% full, say a bit less than a centimetre, that represents the limit. Only a splash in the

bottom in both cases. Any more than that will see you convicted. If you are convicted, the penalty for driving under the influence is usually three months prison. And/or up to $1500 fine. And disqualification from driving for at least six months. For causing death or injury while driving drunk, the court can jail you for up to $4000. And disqualify you for a minimum of one year. Refusing to give a blood sample (you are legally obliged to do so) carries the same

penalty as driving drunk. Refusing to hand over your car keys to the traffic cop, once you've been caught out, means you pay an extra $200 on top of the usual fine. Even below the limit, your chances of having an accident are still greater than if you were sober. Alcohol affects your judgment, your assessment of speed and distance, and slows down your reactions. Not much help when speed is needed to avoid another vehicle, or a lamp-post. The simplest solution, of course, is to limit one's drinking to a safe level. Practically speaking, that means an average sized man (ie 70kg or 11 stone) will be close to the limit after drinking a bottle and a half. Or three cans of beer. Or half a bottle of wine. Or five nips of spirits. In an hour. These limits can be altered according to size, sex, weight and previous experience with alcohol. Smaller people, younger people and women should aim to drink less than this. After the first hour, one drink an hour should keep you at the same level. Alcohol is most dangerous when it is drunk when you are either tired or hungry, or when it is drunk quickly. Even a driver who is not visibly drunk is still dangerous. So play it safe - get a ride home with a sober driver. Or get a taxi. Or see if you can crash for the night. Parting with a few dollars or putting up with a lumpy couch is better than losing your licence - or worse. Anyone who has had a friend die in a drunkdriving accident will tell you - waking up on a hard floor is better than not waking up at all.

By

Nick Ward

The Picton Paper