Please Don't Drink and Drive This Christmas
17-December-2008
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Given it's the silly season, we feel it's time to remind everyone to be vigilant and aware when driving or accepting a ride this Christmas.
Juliet's cousin, Taneith Lanyon, was 31 when she went out for her work Christmas party, 5 years ago, and will never be able to forget what happened afterwards...
"After a couple of drinks, we hit the dance floor. We had a ball and when the lights came on at 11:30pm, we were keen to party on," she reported to Take 5 magazine this month.
Her work colleague suggested they go to a night club, and Taneith was excited! But her heart sank when she saw the long taxi queue. Then another colleague offered them both a ride with her boyfriend, John, and two other friends and they jumped at the chance.
"I put on my seatbelt and 20 minutes into the journey, John's driving became erratic [he drove at 120km/h in a 70km/h zone]... the next thing I knew, I work up in hospital with no recollection of how I got there," she said.
She was in a coma for 3 days and on life support; and suffered a broken neck, dislocated collarbone, 3 broken ribs, tissue damage, punctured right lung, broken sternum, deep cut and friction burn on her chest, nerve root damage, and her left hip was cut to the bone from front to back. And the worst news? She was now a quadriplegic.
The doctors told her she would never walk again and that she'd need care 24 hours a day.
One of the other passengers now has brain damage, and another suffered broken ribs and toes, and a dislocated collarbone.
They had no idea the driver had been drinking, even though he had been 3 times over the legal blood alcohol limit.
He was eventually sentenced to 6.5 years in jail, his licence was disqualified for 10 years, and he was fined $500.
Taneith pleads and warns: "I want everyone to be aware – if you're driving, please don't drink. And don't think this can't happen to you – it happens every day."
Please make sure you don't drink and drive this Christmas! And don't get into cars with people who have been.
Drinking facts
How many times have you been unwittingly over the limit, or even thought, 'I'll be OK to drive'?
Most of us go out to enjoy ourselves knowing the one standard drink rule. But do we really know what this means? With 30 per cent of all fatal drink driving crashes occurring between 9pm and 3am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and that one quarter of all drink drivers in fatal crashes are aged 30-39 years, we're not so sure.
Just for the record, a woman should have a maximum of one standard drink in the first hour and one drink per hour after that if she's planning to drive. However the line becomes blurry when you factor in varying glass sizes and also cocktails (which are notoriously more than one standard drink).
Interestingly, even after only one drink, you're still twice as likely to have an accident than someone who hasn't had anything at all.
The standard drink guideline
* One middy of beer
* One glass of wine (100ml)
* One 30ml nip of spirits
Also, did you know your blood alcohol level reaches its peak 20-60 minutes after you stop drinking? No amount of fresh air, coffee or water can reduce this in a hurry – just time. However, eating a meal and pacing yourself throughout the night will help minimise increased blood alcohol levels in the long-term.