Deprived of festivities last year due to a curfew, the French had organized themselves on the sly or had chosen to ignore the December 31 hoopla. This year, while the covid-19 epidemic is on the rise again and the omicron variant is encrusted for New Years Eve, the French are still preparing to celebrate New Year’s Eve this Friday evening.
But before perfecting his swaying dance moves or impressing the gallery by turning into a cocktail man, a question arises: what solutions to avoid drunk driving? This question, only a third of the French people questioned ask themselves it and are aware of the danger, according to the barometer “The French, New Year’s Eve and drunk driving” presented this Thursday by Road Safety and the Insurance Prevention association .
The survey, carried out online by the Moaï research institute among 1,030 individuals, from November 19 to December 6, i.e. before the explosion of Covid-19 contaminations, shows that 37% of those questioned plan to take arrangements to avoid driving while intoxicated, such as sleeping in or appointing a person who will not drink alcohol.
Another possible solution, quite simply to leave the car and to climb on a train. In Ile-de-France, the RERs will run at night, as will six metro lines (1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 14) which will be open between around 2.15 a.m. and 5.30 a.m. Be careful, however, not all stations will be open on these metro lines, specifies the RATP on its website. The bus lines of the Noctilien network, in service from 12:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m., will also run like a classic weekend night.
“False solution”
As the poll’s sponsors point out in a statement, many continue to believe that it is possible to circumvent the law and resist the effect of alcohol on the body. Thus, 32.7% of those questioned state at least one “False solution” for “to counter” the effects of drinking and driving. Like the one aiming to take small roads with little traffic or to drive slowly… The Association Assurance Prévention and the Moaï Studies Institute report “Always partial knowledge of blood alcohol level and the risks involved”. One in two respondents, for example, does not know the elimination time of alcohol. Remember that it is one to two hours per glass of alcohol consumed.
Alcohol does not distinguish between highway and country lane. With 804 people killed in an accident involving an alcoholic driver in 2020, alcohol is involved in 31% of fatal crashes. It is also singled out in 49% of night accidents, recalls Road Safety, citing the National Interministerial Road Safety Observatory. Twenty people lost their lives on the roads on December 31, 2019 and January 1, 2020, the latest figures since a curfew was in effect last year.