Skip to main content
Pint with car key

As the excitement builds for the EURO 2024 final between Spain and England on July 14th, football fans across the country are preparing for what promises to be a night of intense celebration. While enjoying the festivities is part of the experience, it’s crucial to remember the serious risks associated with drink-driving, especially the morning after.

The Morning After: Hidden Dangers

Hunter Abbott, Managing Director of AlcoSense, highlights the often-overlooked dangers of morning-after drink-driving. “If you drink four pints of average strength beer (4% ABV) up until closing time, you won’t be clear of alcohol until about 11am,” he said. “For stronger beers, it takes even longer”. The residual effects of alcohol impair critical driving abilities, including reaction times and judgment, even when the driver may feel sober.

Government data supports this concern, showing a significant number of drink-drive collisions occur the morning after drinking. Many drivers unknowingly overestimate their ability to drive safely after a night of drinking, leading to tragic consequences.

Recent Tragic Incident

This issue was tragically underscored by a recent incident in the North East. A dangerous drink-driver was sentenced to 17 years in prison after causing a devastating crash that resulted in the deaths of eight-month-old Zackary Blades and Karlene Warner, 30, who were passengers in the car he rammed into at more than double the 70 mph speed limit. They were killed instantly.

Tips for Safe Celebrations

To ensure safety during the EURO 2024 celebrations, consider the following tips:

  1. Use Personal Breathalysers: Devices like AlcoSense can help you determine whether you’re safe to drive the morning after drinking.
  2. Plan Ahead: Arrange for alternative transportation, such as taxis, public transport, or designated drivers, if you plan to drink.
  3. Avoid Assumptions: Do not assume you are safe to drive based on how you feel. Alcohol metabolizes at different rates for different people, and even if you feel fine, you may still be over the limit.
  4. Stay Informed: Familiarize yourself with how long alcohol stays in your system. On average, it takes about one hour for your body to process each unit of alcohol, but this can vary widely.

Driving under the influence not only poses a significant risk to yourself and others but also carries severe legal penalties. Convictions for drink-driving can result in hefty fines, license suspensions, and even imprisonment. Moreover, the social and emotional impact on victims and their families can be devastating and long-lasting.

As fans gear up for the EURO 2024 final, it’s essential to balance celebration with responsibility. By taking proactive steps to avoid drink-driving, fans can enjoy the match and the festivities without endangering themselves or others.

For more information on safe driving practices and the risks of drink-driving, visit Driving.org. Let’s make this EURO 2024 final a memorable and safe event for everyone.

I passed my driving test last weekend, I want to say huge thanks to my instructor Lisa baour, she's been amazing mentor throughout the process. I'm from different country and I didn't have any driving experience before, so I had to learn everything from the scratch, she's been calm and polite from the very beginning, that help me lot to boost my confidence and take out my driving nervousness. Thank you so much Lisa and shift for making me a better driver, i higly recommend Lisa and shift, you won't be disappointed..cheers 🍻🍻
100% recommend Shift to anyone looking to learn. Simon is an excellent instructor, so calm and confident, took his time to understand me and how I learn best so that I could become a confident driver. Passed today with only 1 minor fault!
I highly recommend Shift Driving School Gateshead for beginners or anyone with some prior experience. Their website is excellent, and the app is incredibly user friendly, it makes booking lessons, tracking progress, making payments, and setting your availability so simple.

One of the things that impressed me most was how quickly Shift matched me with an instructor. Within a week of purchasing my package, I was driving. Other companies I contacted took over two weeks just to respond and told me I’d be waiting up to five weeks for an instructor. Choosing Shift was definitely the best decision I made.

I had Simon as my instructor, and he was fantastic. He was super flexible with my hectic schedule, gave me honest and constructive feedback, and used the app to track my progress so I could clearly see what I needed to work on and what I was already doing well. This made the lessons streamlined and efficient.

Simon also gave me the confidence to believe I was ready before I even felt it myself and he was right. Thanks to his teaching, I passed my driving test with zero faults (not even a single minor!).

Overall, Shift offers great cars (Mercedes 😉), an easy to use system, and most importantly, excellent instructors. Huge thanks to Simon for making the learning experience such a positive one!
Highly recommend Shift Driving School. They were an absolute pleasure to deal with from start to finish. Special shout out to my instructor Hassan, who taught me from scratch in just under 6 months. I had no previous driving experience at all and he talked through the steps and skills needed clearly, always supportively pushing me to be my best. Delighted to have passed at first attempt! Couldn’t have done it without the team at Swift and Hassan. Thank you!
Passed with Simon today! He’s an outstanding instructor, so much patience and understanding, especially for neurodivergent learners. My confidence developed massively whilst learning with Simon. Also big shout out to the whole team, especially Lewis, for being so reassuring when I first reached out about lessons. I’d recommend these guys to anyone.
I 10000000% recommend this driving school my instructor has been appsalutly amazing he had so much patience and really helped me through all my lessons then he recommend me a nervous course which really helped me as I really struggled with my nerve on my test but I finally done it and passed my test and I wouldn't have been able to do it if it wasn't for lewis so thank u sooooo much :)
Lewis is a great instructor very patient, clear, and encouraging he made learning to drive feel easy and enjoyable highly recommend.
What a great company to not only learn to drive with, but to actually work with too. We would highly recommend Shift without a doubt.
Highly recommend Shift Driving School. They were an absolute pleasure to deal with from start to finish. Special shout out to my instructor Hassan, who taught me from scratch in just under 6 months. I had no previous driving experience at all and he talked through the steps and skills needed clearly, always supportively pushing me. Delighted to have passed at first attempt! Couldn’t have done it without the team at Shift and Hassan. Thank you!
I just passed my driving test. With many thanks to Simon instructor at Shift driving school. I learned a lot and Simon was very patient and guide me well. I am grateful for the excellent teaching and kind lessons I had. Definitely recommend.