Sober up to avoid the need for personal injury compensation claims

Every year the festive season is less likely to bring with it the promise of peace and goodwill than it is to bring the guarantee of accidents and subsequent personal injury compensation claims. If it's not faulty electrical equipment exploding in your face, slipping accidents on icy pavements or harm inducing rushes for the January sales that leave you with an invite to a festive gathering at your local A&E, dicing with the danger of drink-driving surely will.

With office parties involving copious amounts of booze on the company account and long lazy winter days sitting around with dull family members it isn't any wonder why we hit the bottle more than usual around Christmas. After all, it is the season to be jolly and what better than a few Sherries with your Gran to get the festive spirit flowing.

Unfortunately drinking can have its down sides. Yes, there are the mind numbing, room spinning headaches and the feeling that someone has reached inside your stomach and twisted your guts accompanied by that overwhelming urge to shove that dancing reindeer that screeches Santa's Coming to Town where the sun doesn't shine. But when you combine drinking with driving you are risking the possibility of causing serious passenger injuries to your loved ones, causing harm to other road users and pedestrians and even having a fatal accident that either leaves you dead or facing a jail sentence.

Christmas is full of fun and frolics but there is a very serious side that must be acknowledged. Many think, "Well everyone else is doing it and I've never got caught before so I'll just have a few". But it is this "I'll just have a few" mentality that puts lives at risk and you should consider the fact that there are over half a million breath tests carried out in the UK every year and around 100,000 of those tests are found to be over the legal alcohol limit. Christmas is supposed to be a time for Santa, reindeers and presents not personal injury solicitors, law-suits and judges.

Drink-driving: cause and effect
There are a few explanations as to why people choose to drink-drive. People think they will get away with it, believe it's convenient and cheaper than getting a taxi or just don't realise how much they have had to drink when they get behind the wheel. However, it is clear that the main reason that they do it is because they simply haven't considered the consequences or haven't had a loved one suffer serious personal injuries as a result of a drink-driving car accident.

Drinking can turn an ordinarily rational motorist into a deluded risk-taker. When people drink they lose their inhibitions; they will not only declare their undying love for all and sundry but they will also begin to think that they are the greatest driver that's ever lived and believe that they will never get caught in the act.

But not even celebrities are untouchable when it comes to drink-driving. Hollywood star Mel Gibson was arrested and chastised after a drink-driving escapade that took place in California back in July. Similarly, the countless drink-driving/reckless driving antics of hotel chain heiress Paris Hilton are never out of the media spot-light. And we Brits are no better with former England football captain, Tony Adams, serving two months at Her Majesty's pleasure for drink-driving offences in 1990.

Is it really worth it?
After an all-night bender you are likely to still be drunk the next morning so think twice before driving. No amount of cold showers and double espressos will help you to sober up any quicker either. It takes approximately an hour for each drink to pass through your system so if you have 12 drinks on a night out, stop drinking at 12am and get up to drive to work at 8am the next morning then it is almost definite that you will still be over the legal alcohol limit.

Driving while you have more than 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood can land you in serious trouble. Although a police officer can not pull you over and breathalyse you without good reason if you are suspected of causing a motoring offence or alcohol can be smelt on your breath then you may be asked to take the test. If you are found to be over the limit this will mean that a driving disqualification is a dead cert. You may also face a fine of up to £5,000 and six months in prison.

However, these penalties are little compared to having to live with someone's blood on your bonnet. There have been calls to make punishments far harsher for drunk drivers, especially those that cause personal injury to others as a result of their reckless driving. Many have even campaigned for the life imprisonment of those that cause death by drink-driving.

As it stands, causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison, a minimum 2 year driving ban and a need to pass an extended driving test before the ban is lifted. But some are still getting away with a slap on the wrist and perhaps the threat of having a personal injury compensation claim made against them.

Seasons greetings to a drink-drive campaign
The government is determined to cut the number of road accident casualties in the UK by 40% by 2010 and is already making great headway. Each year they introduce a Christmas campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of drink-driving and 2006 is no exception.

Around 20,000 lives have been saved in the last 13 years as a result of central government drink-drive campaigns. As always, this year's key message is designed to remind drivers not to drink and drive and the campaign's main objectives are:

• To increase awareness of the dangers of having a couple of drinks and driving
• To educate drivers that they can't calculate their alcohol limit
• To shake drivers' confidence about their own 'rule of thumb' of what's safe to drink and drive
• To get drivers to think about the consequences of being caught

The campaign, launching on 1st December, will run throughout December via television, radio, cinema, online, ambient advertising and PR/press sponsorships and gather support from pubs, bars and retailers. For more information please visit www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk

A final word
Just because you receive more warnings about the dangers of drink-driving at Christmas time than you do at any other time of the year does not mean that this is the only time when this act of reckless driving is restricted. Drink-driving causes an average of 3,000 deaths and serious personal injuries every year and it is a year-round problem that needs year-round attention. Nobody wants to have to seek out the expertise of a good solicitor to make a claim for personal injury compensation whatever the weather, so drive safe.

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