There are bogus excuses, and bogus solutions. Drive slowly, drink water, suck a mint candy… More than seven out of ten French people (71%) are still planning to return from New Year’s Eve by car this year, after a drunken evening, by opting for these ” tips” which are not, says Road Prevention. “Scoop: taking the back roads has never lowered blood alcohol levels,” Anne Lavaud, the general delegate of the association, said at a press conference on Thursday.
“Sleeping there is by far the best solution, as long as you get a real night’s sleep,” she insists. Road Safety presented the 14th edition of its “BienRentre” awareness campaign for the approaching New Year’s Eve.
“The French do not know how to estimate their consumption”
Another unsuitable solution: limiting alcohol consumption. “The French do not know how to estimate it (…) the doses of official alcohol served in bars and restaurants have absolutely nothing to do with the doses served at home. »
The “The French, New Year’s Eve and drunk driving” barometer has changed little compared to those of previous years. The average consumption in terms of number of glasses that those surveyed plan to drink on New Year’s Eve has decreased slightly, from 3.5 in 2022 to 3.3 in 2023.
In France, the alcohol level for people with a driving license (excluding the probationary period) is 0.5 g/l of blood. On average, it drops by 0.1 g/l of blood per hour, according to the government Road Safety website.
A third of road deaths
Road Safety still recommends appointing an “evening captain”, who does not drink and will accompany drinkers, to test their alcohol level with a breathalyzer or to return by public transport.
Drunk driving accounted for 30% of road deaths in 2023, and 71% of these deaths occur at night. On average, over the last five years (excluding the Covid period), “18 people died on the roads during the New Year weekend”, according to the National Interministerial Road Safety Observatory.