It is a a time when thousands of people suffer the affects of irresponsible drinking.
According to EMPD spokesman, Wilfred Kgasago, the EMPD will be working in close collaboration with all the other law enforcement agencies such as Gauteng Province, SAPS and Cross Border Road Traffic Agency in an endeavour to drastically bring down the road accident fatalities.
He says all the identified accident hot spots as well as all places where the causes of accidents emanate, such as places where revellers will be converging such as dams, parks and taverns, will be closely monitored to ensure that risk-takers are apprehended before putting lives of innocent road users at risk.
Kgasago urgently asks that motorists must desist from drinking and driving, observe all the rules of the
road and be considerate to fellow road users to avert situations of road rage.
He explains high visibility patrols will be the order of the day with focal areas being drinking and driving, moving violations, overloading, speeding and unroadworthy vehicles.
According to Kgasago law enforcers will show no mercy to offenders and motorists behaving irresponsibly will have the book thrown at them.
Here are the top 10 tips that will allow people over the holidays to drink responsibly.
1. Drinking shouldn’t be the focus while everyone loves a good party, the focus of the party should never be drinking, or worse, getting drunk.
Parties should focus on celebrating the past year, welcoming the New Year, and spending time with family and friends.
2. Set a limit just like most things, drinking is fine in moderation.
3. Drink slowly New Year’s Eve is not the time to binge-drink.
4. Be sure to eat food that is high in protein like meat or cheese before drinking or while drinking, it can slow the effects of alcohol.
5. Diluting drinks is a tactic that has been used for centuries to keep people from getting drunk. As far back as medieval times, people have been adding water to their alcohol to prevent drunkenness.
6. Keep it happy, alcohol will magnify a person’s mood, so if you are happy while drinking, chances are you will stay that way. If you are depressed or angry, drinking will make these feelings worse.
7. Designate a driver, drinking and driving absolutely don’t mix. More than 75 000 people are killed each year in alcohol-related incidents.
8. Know who is buying and never accept a drink from a stranger; it’s impossible to know if something has been put in it.
9. Avoid drugs when drinking, it’s important not to mix alcohol with other drugs, whether illegal or prescription.
10. Know what you are drinking, quality over quantity is usually best, and this is also true with alcohol.
