AA Ireland has warned motorists of the danger of driving the morning after a night out.
The warning comes after a recent survey found that a significant number of Irish drivers have driven in the morning while unsure if they are still over the legal alcohol limit from the night before.
An AA Car Insurance survey of over 6,000 Irish motorists found that 9.41% of respondents admitted that, on one occasion in the past year, they had driven the day after a night out while still possibly over the limit.
A further 5.64% admitted to taking this risk on up to five occasions, while 0.82% admitted to doing so on more than five occasions in 2019.
The best advice, according to the motoring organisation, is to avoid driving if you still feel hungover after a night out.
“When we speak about drink-driving, most people will assume that we’re only talking about the person who stumbles out of a pub at half three in the morning, falls into their car and takes a stupid risk which puts the lives of other road users in danger,” Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs said.
“However, there is another aspect to drink-driving, which is the potential danger posed by people who think that after a few hours sleep and a strong coffee they will magically be ready and able to drive.
“You have many people who will do the right thing and get a taxi home after a night out, but then turn around just a few hours later and get behind the wheel of a car without thinking of the fact that they could still be over the limit.”
“Quite often people believe that the idea that it takes the body an hour to process a unit of alcohol is a hard and fast rule, but it’s not that clear cut.
“Generally speaking, if you still have a pounding head and you still feel hungover, then there is a strong likelihood that you may still be over the limit and you shouldn’t be getting behind the wheel.”
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