Win, lose or draw - life goes on the morning after
From Councillor Ted Richards, Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways on 08 June 2012
Solihull Council is supporting a nationwide summer drink drive campaign focusing on the ‘morning after’ message, ahead of Euro 2012 and the Olympic games.
In the coming weeks, millions of people across the UK will be watching the UEFA European Football Championship in Poland and Ukraine as well as the London Olympics, and many of this number will be enjoying a drink as they do so.
The ‘Win, lose or draw’ campaign is aiming to spread awareness of the increased risk of drivers being inadvertently over the legal alcohol limit the morning after a night of drinking.
Recent studies have shown that drinking just four pints of lager in the evening can leave drivers above the limit until the following lunchtime.
Solihull Council’s Road Safety team is working with public houses in the borough to promote the campaign, with the issuing of posters and beer mats bearing the slogan ‘win, lose or draw – life goes on the ‘morning after’’.
Of the campaign, Councillor Ted Richards, Cabinet member for Transport and Highways, said: “This is a very important issue especially for young drivers who are statistically more likely to be involved in accidents. There is no definite way of knowing that you are under the limit and even small quantities of alcohol can affect a person’s ability to drive. I would recommend that all residents avoid alcohol for a significant period before driving – to be safe, to avoid convictions, and to ensure their enjoyment of this summer’s sporting events.”
One of the pubs in Solihull that has got behind the campaign this week in the run up to Euro 2012 is the Mason's Arms on the High Street. Manager Steve Laydon said, “It’s imperative to get the message across as it doesn’t seem to get a lot of attention in the media. We’ve got lots of beer mats and put plenty of posters up around the pub to help raise awareness to our customers of the dangers of driving the morning after drinking.”
First developed in 2008, the ‘morning after’ campaign has been adapted to provide the basis for the ‘Win, lose or draw’ campaign for Euro 2012 and the Olympics. There will be extensive promotion of the campaign at www.twitter.com/morning_after and www.facebook.com/morningafterorg.
In the UK, the alcohol limit for drivers is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, 35mg per 100ml of breath or 107mg per 100ml of urine. However, there is much variance from person to person in how quickly the body processes alcohol – with factors including weight, gender and stress levels.
For enquiries from members of the press and media only, please contact Alex Hemming on 0121 704 6136
Email: alex.hemming@solihull.gov.uk