It´s December – the season of goodwill, dodgy telly and the office Christmas party.
For me the office do is going to be a chance to have fun with some of my workmates (now that I´ve worked out what kind of clothes are appropriate) while making a conscious effort not to make a fool of myself. For some people that might not be an issue – either because they don´t care or are generally more sensible than me.
Whatever your outlook having a few drinks at a party is something of a given, which leads me to the point of this blog: I saw something on the news today that I found disturbing – it´s now possible to buy breathalisers, for under £15, so that you can test if you´re ok to drive. So in theory you can go to your office party, have your fun and just check if you´re safe to get yourself home.
In theory I say because surely if you have more than one you know you shouldn´t really be driving? Even just one can be a bit dodgy, depending on the drink, the alcohol content and the size it may put you over the legal limit of 80mg of alcohol to 100ml of blood. Especially if you don´t eat or are quite petite… In short drinking alcohol and driving your car can be a minefield.
I´m not trying to preach, or spoil your fun in anyway, it´s just that if you feel the need to test if you´re ok to drive it seems likely that you aren´t. More worryingly still a car magazine tested the breathalisers (not in scientific conditions) and found that several of them told the user they were safe to drive, even though the breathaliser used by the police indicated they weren´t.
There are so many alternatives to driving home – from taxis to night buses to car sharing with a designated driver – that it just doesn´t seem worth the risk. That´s how I see it anyway.
