Take small roads, drive slowly or drink coffee: seven out of ten French people are still considering “bad” solutions to return home after consuming alcohol, according to a Road Prevention survey, mobilized for New Year’s Eve on December 31.
For the thirteenth year, the Road Prevention association launched its awareness campaign entitled “Bien retour” by presenting its barometer of “The French, New Year’s Eve and drunk driving” on Thursday during a press conference in Paris.
83% of the French intend to consume alcohol during the New Year’s Eve festivities, with an average of 3.5 glasses, of which 23% plan to use their personal vehicle, according to the survey carried out online by the MOAI research institute from November 18 to 24. with 1,000 individuals.
“The alcohol factor is present in 29% of accidents and the risk of an accident is multiplied by 18 in alcoholic people,” stressed Anne Lavaud, general delegate of the association, recalling that on the night of December 31, 2019, on December 1 January 2020 (pre-Covid reference), 20 people died on the roads of France.
According to the survey, young people (over 18 years of age) will consume an average of five glasses or more, which is a concern for Road Safety. And 11% of the French will consume more than eight glasses.
One of the leading causes of road deaths
The general delegate said she was “annoyed” to observe that “seven out of ten French people still offer strange things as a solution” to return home after drinking alcohol.
“Take small roads, drive slowly, drink coffee or suck on a mint… No, it doesn’t work!” Anne Lavaud hammered, pointing out that the French don’t really know how to calculate their blood alcohol level.
In addition to the TV and radio spots, Road Safety launched the distribution of 25,000 breathalyzers in December. It has also launched 40 awareness workshops in France, to assess what a glass of alcohol is or to travel with glasses that cloud vision, like an individual with, for example, 0.8 grams of alcohol in the blood.
According to Road Safety, drink driving is one of the leading causes of road deaths. The authorized limit is 0.5 g of alcohol per liter of blood, which corresponds to two glasses (0.2 g for test and learning permits).
“Sleeping there, appointing an evening captain before Christmas Eve -the one who does not drink-, taking a breathalyzer test and returning by taxi or public transport” are the appropriate solutions, Anne Lavaud insisted.
Source: BFM TV
