Safer Roads Humber are warning drivers to consider how much they're drinking if they plan on getting behind the wheel the following day

It comes as festive celebrations are in full swing with winter solstice just around the corner.

Author: Charlotte LinnecarPublished 16th Dec 2023

We're being advised by Safer Roads Humber to think carefully about getting behind the wheel this Christmas if we've been drinking the night before. The amount of time it takes for alcohol to leave your body depends on several factors such as how fit and well you are, your age and how much you have had to drink.

The road safety partner says they'd like for more people to understand the full affects of alcohol and to understand how driving the next day, can be dangerous.

Ruth Gore, form Safer Roads Humber tells us more:

"Our issue is actually that people have done the right thing and they haven't driven whilst they're drunk that evening, but we need them to think of the morning after.

"If you actually don't feel so brilliant in the morning after a night out, actually that's a really big clue, think are you actually fully alert and able to drive?"

It can be 12 hours for the body to fully process a bottle of wine.

Ruth added that it takes a long time for alcohol to leave your body and it can vary from person to person:

"If you're not feeling as well, or you've got health conditions, or perhaps you're just a bit under the weather, or you know, you're just a bit stressed etcetera... it will affect how fast your body processes the alcohol.

"It also depends how tall you are, how big you are, if you're male or female; everybody is different. That kind of, rule of thumb of one unit an hour, is based one really fit, young, healthy males, so it may take a little longer for yourself. Think have you had a bit more than you would normally have had, are you fit to drive that morning after."

Finally, Ruth said for people unsure on these details, they should look at the Safer Roads Humber website to get the information that's needed.

Including an alcohol calculator.

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