On The Road

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November has come to an end and the holiday season is officially upon us.

That signals the start of the Festive RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) program by police services across the GTA and the Ontario Provincial Police.

This important traffic safety program began in 1974 and continues to provide a visible deterrent to encourage motorists not to drive if they have been drinking. Strongly supported by anti-drinking and driving groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the Ontario Community Council on Impaired Driving (OCCID), we should all be aware that RIDE spot checks are conducted on a year-round basis and the Festive RIDE program merely increases the number of spot checks being conducted on city streets and highway off ramps from the last week of November through the holidays and into the first week of January.

The reason for the launch is to remind folks, particularly at this time of the year, that drinking and driving is a criminal offence that carries severe penalties, including a criminal record, immediate licence suspension of 90 days, immediate vehicle impoundment and significant future driving restrictions for those charged and ultimately convicted of a drinking and driving offence.

Now, for those who believe they can best escape the RIDE program by having their celebratory drinks in the afternoon or over the lunch hour, RIDE and certainly the Festive RIDE program will be operating at all hours, and in fact, it is alarming to see the number of motorists who fail (or come close to failing) a roadside breath test when they are stopped on their way to work in the morning or when driving back to the office in the early afternoon.

So the question becomes; how much can the average person drink and not be legally impaired? Unfortunately, there is no textbook answer to that question and the only sure way to avoid feeling the effects of alcohol impairment or actually being impaired for that matter, is to not drink any alcohol at all.

Medical and police experts tell us once alcohol is consumed the onset of impairment begins, albeit perhaps undetectable at the early stage. However, as consumption increases or continues, the level of impairment and the effects felt also begin to increase very quickly and significantly. Basic motor skills begin to deteriorate and noticeable symptoms emerge such as staggering when walking, slurring of speech and poor hand-to-eye co-ordination to cite but three. Not to mention the fact that sound and reasonable judgment also seem to go out the window often leading to poor choices, such as deciding to drive.

There is no magic formula to determine what one's blood alcohol level may be at any point in time, only a blood test or a police Breathalyzer can accurately establish that level. Avoid relying on coin operated Breathalyzers still found in some licensed establishments as they are likely to give false readings due to the fact they are not often calibrated for accuracy, unlike police operated Breathalyzers that are calibrated every two weeks.

The important point to remember is that once drinking begins, the passage of time is the only way to return to a state of sobriety. There are no immediate or magical remedies such as drinking lots of black coffee or throwing cold water on a person's face to quickly sober them up. Those techniques may provide a very short lived 'shock' factor that can temporarily alert the senses but certainly have no lasting or sobering effect.

Research tells us the average person rids themselves of blood-alcohol at a rate of about 10 milligrams per hour. Therefore, if one's blood-alcohol level is right on the line at 80 milligrams, on average it will take about eight hours for the bloodstream to be totally clear of alcohol. This is certainly important for all G1 and G2 licence holders to remember, particularly if they decide to drive five or six hours after returning from a party or an evening out where they have been drinking as those licence classes have a zero-alcohol condition placed upon the licence holder when driving.

Parents, this is a good one to remember if your son or daughter has been out drinking the night before and now needs the car to drive to work or go to school the next morning.

All that being said, the fear of being stopped in a RIDE spot check should not serve as the sole deterrent. Rather, personal and public safety, social responsibility and good judgment should always be the determining factor not to drink and drive and the RIDE program should merely serve as a reminder that consequences await those who ignore their road safety responsibility by driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.