Autosobriety to Prevent Drink-Driving in South Africa

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Introduction

. . . With the support of

. . . In collaboration with

Background of the Program

Timeline 22nd June 2020 Strategic partnership signed between UNITAR and Pernod Ricard 23rd March 2021 Launch in South Africa in eThekwini Municipality Target: 100 Driving schools 5000 beneficiaries 19th May 2021 Launch of the program in the Dominican Republic Launch at the national level Target: 5000 beneficiaries 3rd August 2021 MoU signed with UNITAR and CAN secretariat as strategic ally 2022 Roll-out of the program in 4 new countries

Road Traffic Injuries: ** A hidden pandemic **

Let's check the global statistics of this hidden pandemic Source: WHO

Every year 1.35 million people are killed

And 50 million are seriously injured globally due to road crashes

Every 24 seconds road crashes kill one person

Nearly 3,700 killed a day

Road crashes are the number one killer of people aged between 5 to 29 years-old

Let's check the crashes and casualties in South Africa in 2019 Source: Road Traffic Management Corporation

10,391 fatal crashes

12,503 casualties in South African roads

34 deaths daily

Let's check the crashes and casualties in eThekwini Municipality in 2019 Source: eThekwini Transport Authority

65,861 crashes in 2019

16,087 injuries ** of which 3,730 are serious injuries **

631 deaths

Let's check the Driving Intoxicated in South Africa Statistics Source: South African Road Traffic Management Corporation

It is estimated that alcohol use is involved in 28% of fatal crashes

These casualties cause 3,500 deaths a year

3,500 deaths a year can be compared to 9 crashed airplanes each plane with 368 passengers

In 2019, there were 5,500 alcohol related crashes in eTHEKWINI which comprises at least 8% of all crashes in the municipal area

5% of Road Traffic casualties in eThekwini involve alcohol

Drinking and Driving

The first stage during which alcohol enters the bloodstream is called absorption.

The majority of alcohol is absorbed through your stomach and small bowel

Through the blood, alcohol spreads over to all organs, and primarily to the brain and muscles.

When alcohol enters the brain along with blood, we begin to experience alcohol intoxication. This process can continue when the driver is on the road.

Alcohol is a depressant for the central nervous system (CNS), impairing functions related to judgment, control, and cognition

When the central nervous system (CNS) is suppressed, the following functions slowdown affecting behavior:

How large the drink is Remember, the more you drink, the longer it will take to eliminate alcohol

Body size and weight

Age

General health

Gender When drinking the same amount of alcohol, women will end up with a higher concentration of alcohol in their blood than men, because: Women typically weigh less Women have less water in their body to dilute alcohol Women bodies contain fewer of the enzymes that break down ethanol

Genetic background

90% of the consumed alcohol is processed by the liver

The remaining 10% is removed from the body through sweat, tears, urine and the lungs

The liver is capable of processing about 8 grams per hour

In South Africa, one unit of alcohol is about 8gr of pure alcohol How many units are in your drink? Standard glass of wine: 2.1 units Draft glass of low strength beer: 2 units Draft glass of high strength beer: 3 units Bottle of lager: 1.7 units Cider: 1.5 units Single spirit with mix: 1 unit

Eating If the stomach is full, it slows down the absorption of alcohol. So, eating may reduce the pace at which your BAC increases. We also tend to drink more slowly while eating. However, eating will not prevent you from getting drunk or accelerate the elimination of alcohol

Drinking water This will not speed up alcohol processing, but the body needs water to break down alcohol and remove it in urine. Staying hydrated will help your body process the alcohol you consume.

Induce vomiting Doing this after having an alcoholic drink may reduce a part of it in the body, but alcohol will still be in the blood, not in the stomach. The more time has passed since getting the drink, the more alcohol has transferred from digestive system to the bloodstream.

Take a cold shower This may create a false feeling of increased alertness, as if alcohol had stopped affecting the body, but in fact it did not. Also, drastically changing the body temperature, can be dangerous.

Drinking strong coffee This will not reduce alcohol in your blood. It may help you to stay awake, but it won’t change the level of alcohol in blood and make one sober.

Doing sports This may help removing a small amount of alcohol from the blood through perspiration. However, this amount is not significant to reduce drunkenness.

Sleeping It takes an average adult one hour to process one unit of alcohol. During sleep, the process of metabolism in the body slows down. Naturally, the time to process alcohol increases.

There is no effective ways to get back to being sober faster. Only time is needed to eliminate alcohol from the body. Even when the alcohol is fully eliminated from the body, the brain and muscles have not completely "returned" to normal state.

On your driving behaviour Speeding or, on the contrary, very slow driving Unjustified and unexpected actions (braking, turning, changing the lane or speed, etc.) Looping and twisting on the road Mixing up the gas and brake pedals, red and green traffic lights Reckless and irrational actions

On your brain and body Lower speed of reaction and reflexes Loss of muscle control and coordination Impairment of logical thinking and decision-making Loss of attention, ability to concentrate and memory Twisted space orientation and perception of road conditions Spontaneous and uncontrolled emotionality

On eyesight Light sensitivity Foggy outline of objects Distortion of colours Erroneous perception of distance Tunnel vision

The amount of alcohol in blood can be measured through the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC). BAC refers to the percentage of alcohol (ethanol) in a person's bloodstream.

Less than half of countries worldwide (88 countries) have drink-driving laws based on a BAC limits that is equal to or less than 0.5 grams per liter of blood (g/l). Studies show that the relationship between relative crash rate and BAC-level is exponential (Compton and Berning 2015)

What is the average speed of processing alcohol by an average healthy man?

Alcohol and the law

Drinking and driving is a criminal offense in South Africa

If a person is found guilty of drunk driving, he/she could face up to 6 years in prison

A person could pay a fine up to R120,000

The driver’s license may be suspended

A drunk person will have a criminal record that can have serious consequences for the rest of the life

Avoiding drinking and driving

Legislation and enforcement Enforce laws on maximum levels of alcohol in blood Increase fines and punishments Implement specific actions for serious offenders

Controls Controls by the police

Education Information and education of the population Forced education for offenders

Technology Enhance procedures for alcohol testing

As Road User

Plan ahead your journey back home before you go out

Pre-booked free drive home options are also available in certain areas from local Banking Service

Where available, get a taxi or use public transport

Know the alcohol content of your drink and how much is enough Always drink in moderation

Designate drivers and friends & Never drink and drive

What is the likelihood that you will drink and drive?

Let's check your knowledge

In your view, does the consumption of alcohol before operating a motor vehicle increase the risk of causing a road crash?

How many people die each year in South Africa in drink-driving accidents?

What is the main organ to absorb the alcohol?

What does NOT affect the processing of alcohol in your body?

What is the definition of alcohol unit in South Africa?

By how much does your risk of causing a fatal accident increase at 0.5 BAC compared to 0.0 BAC?

What is the average speed of processing alcohol by an average healthy man?

What actions will speed up the elimination of alcohol out of the body?

What is the BAC limit in your country for individual drivers?

What are the legal consequences of drink-driving in South Africa?

What is the likelihood that you will drink and drive?

Imagine you came to visit your friend by car. You hadn’t plan to drink, but your friend told you that he or she was getting married, so you decided to celebrate it with several glasses of champagne. What will you most probably do to return home?