Monday 5th Oct, 2026 18 °C
Monday 5th Oct, 2026 18 °C
As Christmas approaches, Knowsley’s Road Safety Team are once again supporting the ‘Morning After’ campaign which is making people aware of how long alcohol can stay in the body.
The team has been visiting staff at some of the borough’s largest employers to highlight the importance of ensuring they are fit and safe to drive the morning after drinking. Christmas parties are the norm in the lead up to 25 December, and during this busy period of socialising, the danger of being over the drink drive limit, or unfit to drive the morning after is at its greatest.
Drivers are being urged to wise up to how long it takes for alcohol to pass through the body. Most people wouldn’t dream of drinking and driving and it is becoming more and more socially unacceptable, but people are getting into the car the morning after and are either still over the drink drive limit or are unfit to drive.
The Road Safety team are encouraging people to download the Morning After Calculator app to help them calculate roughly when it is safe for them to drive the day after drinking alcohol. People are being asked to share the free app with friends and loved ones to help them to stay safe and avoid putting the lives of others at risk.
It takes much longer than what most people think for alcohol to pass through the body which means that there is a real danger of people unwittingly driving whilst they are still over the limit or unfit to drive. It takes on average one hour for a unit of alcohol to pass through your body. Although, this can vary depending on a range of different factors such as your weight, age, sex and metabolism. It can also depend on the strength of alcohol you’ve been drinking and the amount of food you’ve consumed.
Cllr Graham Morgan, Knowsley’s cabinet member for regeneration and economic development said: “We wish for everyone to have a wonderful Christmas, but a safe one as well that does not compromise people’s safety. I urge all drivers to get informed about when they will be safe to drive and not simply guess that they are safe.
"Plan ahead and make alternative transport arrangements for the following day if you know that you are going to be having a few drinks. The penalties for being caught drink driving the morning after are exactly the same as at any other time – ignorance is no excuse and you will be prosecuted in the same way as you would be if you were caught at 11 at night.”
As part of a Merseyside Police campaign which began on 1 December, drivers in Merseyside are being tested for drink and drugs in evenings and early mornings, in an attempt to prevent deaths and serious injuries on the road.
Since the beginning of the month, there have already been 105 people arrested for drink and drug driving offences. Drink driving has accounted for 54 of the arrests while drug driving accounts for 51 of the arrests.