Error parsing XSLT file: \xslt\FacebookOpenGraph.xslt Graham Hurdle's blog: 30 July 2012 - The Sun's out and the pub gardens are full, but beware drink driving
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Graham Hurdle's blog: 30 July 2012 - The Sun's out and the pub gardens are full, but beware drink driving

Date: 30 July 2012

Graham Hurdle is managing director of E-Training World

At last we have some sunshine, and having just suffered some of the wettest months on record there seems to be a huge wave of relief across the British Isles that summer has finally arrived.

Barbeques have been lit, beaches are packed and pub gardens are heaving.

Without wishing to bring the mood down, this leads me to the inevitable subject of drink driving. And I'd like to touch on this issue from two perspectives.

1. Where is the Government's campaign? In fact, has anyone seen anything about the dangers of drinking and driving? Because usually there's some form of campaign to raise awareness in readiness for the summer.

2. Who is responsible for a drunk driver climbing behind the wheel?

The answer to number one is pretty simple. The Government seems to have given up on road safety, which is perhaps why road deaths are up for the first time since 2003.

But let's turn our attention to number two. Who is responsible for a drunk driver climbing behind the wheel?

The simple answer is surely the driver - but is that really the case?

I sat in my local pub garden the other day and there were two families at the table next to us.

Two 40 something blokes, their wives and a gaggle of kids running wild.

One of the men was driving, because I heard him refuse a drink. Good man I thought.

But then his friend teased him about 'just drinking orange juice' and said 'come on - just have one, you'll be fine.'

A brief discussion took place between husband and wife - her saying that she couldn't drive because she'd already had a couple of glasses of wine and in the end the guy shrugged and accepted a beer saying he'd be fine.

He didn't want to drink and drive. He refused a drink. His friend cajoled him into it, and his wife accepted his decision.

Yes he should have had more will power to repeat his refusal, yet if his friend had accepted his first decision, and his wife hadn't been so simple to persuade, he would have remained alcohol free when he got back in the car.

We've all been in this situation. Peer pressure is a very powerful thing.

To answer question two, I'd say all three of them were responsible - but only he would be deemed so in the eyes of the law.

So, if you are with friends or colleagues this summer who are driving, please accept that they cannot have a drink and don't be part of the persuasive culture that's causing people to break their own moral standards.

If you persuade a driver to have a drink, or knowingly buy them one, you are ultimately leading to more accidents and deaths on our roads.

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