What are the big road issues for you? Is it cyclists who ride on the road when there’s a perfectly good bike path running in parallel to the road? Are some speed limits just too tough? Would you like to see an overpass built on a particularly busy stretch of road? Do you think there are too many roundabouts?
The NRMA has developed a new community campaign platform called Speak Out to encourage the community to share their road and motoring issues which the NRMA – and motorists associations in other states – can take to governments, state and federal. The NRMA aims to amplify the voice of those that have to deal with road issues each day.
One of the very first pubic campaign suggestions they received was around the issue of drinking driver the morning after. The gentleman’s concern lies in the fact that there needs to be far more education and awareness around the topic.
The NRMA says that 90% of its member agree – there is not enough community education to help drivers monitor if they are over the blood alcohol limit the morning after drinking.
A survey of their member found almost one-quarter know someone who was caught over the legal blood alcohol limit the morning after drinking, while almost 40% have noticed an increase in RBT units in their local area on the mornings of weekends and public holidays. But only 18% of drinkers surveyed claimed they had a definite understanding about their blood alcohol limit the morning after drinking.
On average, eight drivers are booked for drink driving between the hours of 5am and 1pm every day in New South Wales and numbers are thought to be similar in other states.
“Being caught with a blood alcohol reading above the legal limit the morning after drinking is one of those issues Members worry about and we have seen some high profile,” NRMA President Wendy Machin said.
“Our Members don’t want to be caught inadvertently breaking the law and putting their lives and the lives of others at risk, but at the same time they feel there has not been enough information about how best to make sure it’s okay to drive – in essence they want to take the guessing out of what is a very serious issue.”
The NRMA survey also found that drinkers felt the most effective ways to reduce the effect of alcohol the morning after are to:
- wait it out (57%)
- rehydrate by drinking lots of water (46%)
- sleep (27%); and
- eat a big meal or greasy food (14%).
While there is little public education around when best to know if it’s safe to get back in the car, the NRMA encourages its Members to wait one hour for every standard drink consumed the night before.
The NRMA believes governments should have a solution, rather than just increasing RBT units on the roads.
“There needs to be more community education on the matter to support drivers who - as our new research shows - really have no clue if they are over the limit or not,” said Ms Machin.
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To have your say on road issues of interest or concern to you, visit Speak Out
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