As the weather warms up and we head toward summer holidays, we start to get out and about after the hiatus of the colder months. It’s a time of parties, social occasions and lots of time spent in the car getting to and from all these events. It’s also a time when we all like a drink, or two. But drinking and driving don’t mix. So how do you survive the summer season, have fun, but still be able to drive home after?

Driving a motor vehicle involves visual search and recognition, concentration, divided attention, information processing, decision making, coordination, judgement and risk-perception - all of which are adversely effected by alcohol.

So how do we avoid drink driving? If you are planning to drive, the only way to be certain of staying under .05 is to not drink. If you do drink, the following strategies will help minimise the risk:

· plan to take alternative transport if you are likely to be driving;

· count your drinks, and keep track of how long you have been drinking - remember to stay under .05, it is two standard drinks for men in the first hour and one each following hour and for women it is one standard drink per hour only;

· drink slowly, alternating between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks;

· have something to eat while you’re drinking;

· finish your glass before filling up again - this will help you keep count of your drinks;

· drink light rather than full-strength beer;

· be wary of mixed drinks such as spirits or cocktails as you can’t be sure how much alcohol they contain;

· test yourself on a coin-operated breath tester for a rough guide to your BAC;

· before driving, wait at least one hour for each standard drink consumed;

· remember that your BAC may rise for one to two hours after your last drink.

A common problem is that drinks are often poured larger than standard drinks. Try this at home: Pour some wine into a wine glass and then measure the amount of wine in it. You will probably be surprised to find it contains around 180 to 200 ml - which is close to two standard drinks. So the best advice is to drastically limit the amount you do drink and err on the side of a drink being more, rather than less, than the standard.

The last word on drink driving is what happens when you are caught. Period of licence disqualification depends on the concentration of alcohol (grams) per 100 millimetres of blood (BAC). Typical offences are:

BAC           First Offence           Second Offence

.07 - .09       6 months                14 - 18 months

.10             10 months               20 months

.11             11 months               22 months

.12             12 months               24 months

.15             15 months              30 months

.20             20 months              40 months

.24            24 months               48 months

So be careful when out on the road this summer and don’t drink and drive.

What is a standard drink?

· 30ml of spirits (40% alc/vol)

· 60ml of fortified wine (18% alc/vol)

· 100ml of champagne (12% alc/vol)

· 100ml of wine (12% alc/vol)

· 150ml of light wine (8% alc/vol)

· 280ml of standard strength beer (4.9% alc/vol)

· 375ml of low-alcohol beer (2.8% alc/vol)