Are you planning to travel during the Easter holiday? MHF (The Swedish Motorists’ Association) offers advice for a safe Easter journey: always be sober, drug-free, well-rested, and put away your mobile phone. This applies whether using a motorized broom, a car, or a motorcycle. No one wants to encounter a driver under the influence of alcohol or drugs, in the air or on the road.

Approximately 12,500 trips are taken by intoxicated drivers each day on Swedish roads, which equates to around 500 drunk driving incidents per hour. No one wants to meet a driver impaired by alcohol or drugs during their journey.

If you’re going to drink beer, wine, or spirits during the Easter celebrations, you must leave your motor vehicle in the garage even the day after consuming alcohol.

“If you’ve partied heavily the night before, you shouldn’t drive at all the next day. You shouldn’t risk your life or others in traffic,” says MHF Project Manager Tomas Jonsson.

The legal limit for drunk driving in Sweden is 0.2‰ blood alcohol content. You are not a good driver even if the alcohol has left your system.

“If you’ve consumed alcohol the night before, you’ll be exhausted the next day and have reduced reaction capabilities,” says Tomas Jonsson.

It’s challenging to generalize how long it takes for alcohol to leave the body and when one is a safe driver again, as it varies from person to person.

“If you’re unsure, test yourself with a reliable breathalyzer. The device should have been recalibrated within the past year,” advises Tomas Jonsson.

A good breathalyzer should meet EN 15964 or EN 16280 standards. MHF Test Lab is one of three accredited testing labs worldwide for alcohol measuring equipment, including consumer tests of breathalyzers. You can find a list of reliable and dependable breathalyzer recommendations here.

It’s not just alcohol and drugs that impair driving ability. Fatigue is another factor. Research shows that tiredness contributes to approximately one-fifth of all traffic accidents.

MHF’s advice for a safe Easter journey is for drivers to be sober and drug-free, well-rested, and not use their mobile phone while driving.

“Remember to be well-rested and take breaks during the journey. If possible, take turns driving,” says Tomas Jonsson. “The most important thing is to ensure that you and everyone else on the road arrive safely.”

MHF wishes everyone a pleasant and traffic-safe Easter!

Find more from MHF (Sweden, April 2023)