Don't drink and drive!

How popping a cork can be life-threatening

People often get drunk between Christmas and New Year's Eve - but afterwards you should take public transport or a cab home.(Bild: www.bildidee.net)

There are now many opportunities to toast with a glass of wine or champagne. But getting behind the wheel afterwards can ruin lives - as a sad result shows.  

The punch-soaked season of Advent markets is over. But in the coming days, family celebrations and get-togethers with friends are on the agenda - and then New Year's Eve is just around the corner. These are all occasions for popping the corks. But even when you're in a celebratory mood, the principle of "don't drink and drive" should be taken to heart.

Rise in the number of fatalities
The accident statistics are a serious reminder: in the first half of this year alone, seven people died in traffic accidents in Lower Austria where alcohol was involved and 309 were injured. The number of fatalities has therefore risen compared to the previous year. In 2023 as a whole, three people died in accidents involving drink drivers. In the previous year, there were as many in the whole year as this year in the first six months.

Serious accidents under the influence of alcohol claimed more lives in the first six months of this year than in the whole of last year (symbolic image).(Bild: P. Huber)

Intervene instead of watching!
The consequences of too much alcohol in the blood are usually underestimated. "The risk of an accident doubles at 0.5 per mille, increases sevenfold at 1.0 per mille and even 35-fold at two per mille", emphasizes Christian Gratzer, spokesperson for the Austrian Road Safety Association (VCÖ). Accordingly, the police have a watchful eye and no mercy: 385,356 drivers who were suspected of having drunk too much had to blow into the tube of the breathalyzer. In 5470 cases, they were subsequently reported to the police. However, Gratzer also points out the social responsibility of friends in particular not to allow someone to get behind the wheel drunk: "Good friends intervene, don't look away!"