I dont know if therell be snow but have a cup of cheer but be careful if you do decide to indulge in a cup of Christmas cheer because its easy to go overboard, especially during festive times like the holidays.
One likely reason for this may be that the holiday season comes with increased pressures and stress. Perhaps youre traveling to visit family or youre buying gifts you cant really afford, or youre just feeling down because youre missing a loved one this year. Whether festive or sentimental, sometimes the occasions of the season include alcohol. The sad truth is the holiday season can become one of the most dangerous times for accidents and deaths due to alcohol.
For one thing, there are tons of parties and opportunities that include alcoholic beverages. Many individuals that drink during the holidays dont normally use alcohol and may have a lower tolerance for it. Problem drinkers tend to drink more during the holidays because they suddenly have an accepted excuse to drink too much. Add together all these scenarios and you have a recipe for trouble.
Dale Renker, captain of the road division with the Holmes County Sheriffs Department, reminds people that they must be over the age of 21 to consume any type of alcoholic beverage.
You have to be over the age of 21, Renker said. So if you are under 21 and you take even a sip of alcoholic beverage you are in violation of the law immediately.
There are a lot of concepts regarding alcohol and body weight and so forth when it comes to legal consumption. Unfortunately none of these can be 100 percent accurate because every individual is different and their body metabolizes alcohol in a different way.
There are many factors that play into the way alcohol affects the body, Renker said. This will vary with the gender of the person, amount of water the body holds, what is in the digestive system and when it was consumed, the rate and type of alcoholic beverage consumed.
According to Renker, an officer of the law is more concerned with your ability to operate a vehicle even if you only have a small amount of alcohol in your system. Even if youre under the legal limit, you could still be impaired and charged and individuals need to realize this because alcohol is a depressant and can make some individuals tired and slow to respond to situations.
The officer is not looking for the person over the legal limit per se, said Renker. The officer is looking at the ability of a person to operate the motor vehicle. And on the traffic stop, he is going to be looking at the persons fine motor skills and ability of the person to follow instructions also. Therefore a person that never consumes any alcoholic beverages may be under the effects of alcohol with only one drink. And even if they are not over the legal limit per se, they still could be charged with an alcohol related violation because they could not safely operate the motor vehicle.
Getting charged for a DWI or DUI can really put a damper on any day, much less a holiday. Remember, there are other options besides alcohol. If you are hosting a party for a holiday get-together, you might want to offer nonalcoholic beverages as a courtesy for those not wanting to drink. If you are going to drink, drink responsibly. Decide ahead of time how many drinks you will have and stick to it. A blood alcohol content chart can help you understand the relationship between the amount of drinks, blood alcohol content and level of impairment, but remember the alcohol level is not the true indicator of impairment, its the officers observation.
Although many areas do see a higher number of alcohol related accidents during the holiday season, Renker noted that locally that is not the case. Still some individuals do tend to drink more during the holidays and they need to take precautions to stay safe.
If you are going to consume alcoholic beverages, do not be operating any type of equipment, Renker said. Have another person that is not consuming any alcohol be the designated driver. It is best to play it safe as to be sorry.
You can make sure your holiday season is a relaxing, enjoyable and peaceful one by using alcohol responsibly. Dont become another drunk driving statistic, and try to remember the reasons people celebrate at this time of the year.
