Even a small amount of alcohol affects driving ability.
Alcohol is a depressant that slows brain functions, reduces judgment, and can give false confidence, increasing crash risk.
The relationship between blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and crash risk.
A BAC of .05 doubles the risk of crashing, and alcohol-related crashes are generally more serious.
The safest way to drive if planning to consume alcohol.
This is the simplest way to ensure safety, as alcohol affects driving ability and can remain in your system for many hours.
The consequence of driving with illegal drugs in your system.
Different drugs affect driving in various ways, but all impair judgment and concentration, increasing crash risk.
The effect of many prescription and over-the-counter medicines on driving.
Always ask your doctor or pharmacist about a medicine’s effect on driving and follow any warning labels.
The danger of mixing alcohol, drugs, or medicines.
Combining substances significantly amplifies impairment, making driving extremely hazardous.
Using a mobile phone or electronic device while driving.
This increases your risk of a crash by causing lane wandering, tailgating, or missing traffic signals.
Permitted mobile phone use for Learner, P1, and P2 probationary licence holders.
These drivers cannot touch the phone, use voice commands, or change audio once driving, nor interact with text messages.
Permitted mobile phone use for fully licensed drivers.
Fully licensed drivers have more flexibility than probationary drivers, but still have restrictions on mobile phone use while driving to minimize distraction.
Can I drive with alcohol?
Mixing alcohol and driving is dangerous and illegal. Alcohol impairs judgment and reaction time, increasing crash risk.
Impact of alcohol and driving?
Even small amounts of alcohol can significantly reduce your ability to drive safely.
Legal alcohol limit?
It’s crucial to know and adhere to the specific legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit in your region. Driving above this limit is illegal.
Feeling drowsy What should you do?
Drowsiness is a clear sign of fatigue and means you are not fit to drive.
Impact of driving in fatigue?
Research shows being awake for ~17 hours has a similar effect on driving as a BAC of 0.05.
Before a long journey, what helps you in fatigue?
Adequate sleep builds up your ’sleep reserve’ and prevents sleep debt.
What is ’sleep inertia’?
This grogginess can last 15-30 minutes, so wait before driving.
When is the risk of fatal fatigue-related crashes highest?
This is when your body naturally wants to sleep, leading to increased fatigue.
Early warning signs of fatigue?
Recognizing these signs early allows you to take action before it’s too late.
What is the only way to overcome tiredness?
No amount of coffee or loud music can replace actual rest.
Best duration for a nap to combat fatigue?
A short nap can significantly improve alertness without leading to deeper sleep inertia.
Consequence of a 4-second microsleep at 100km/h?
Even a very short microsleep can have catastrophic consequences at high speeds.
Avoid becoming tired on long drives
Proactive planning is key to managing fatigue on extended journeys.
Drinks should you avoid to prevent dehydration
These can dehydrate you; drink plenty of water instead.