You’ve done the right thing – you’re not driving home after a night on the turps.

But before you stagger home consider this: will you make it? Melanie Fineberg uncovers the truth about drink walking.

The good

Fewer people are being killed by drink drivers. Clearly this is great news.

The bad

As a result of this good/great turn of events, more people are walking home from the pub. Which may seem harmless. Until I tell you some of these people are getting hit by cars. Not so good.

The ugly

Now I know the idea of tripping on the pavement after a few beers may seem giggle-worthy, and being ‘clipped’ by a car may seem like a good story. But in 2005 alone, 21 drink walkers were killed and 177 drink walkers were injured.

That’s not funny: that’s a disaster.

The details

Most of these ‘drink walkers’ involved in road crashes are male, most commonly aged 17-29, and are usually pretty far along in the ‘happy’ stakes, with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) reading of 0.15 or more (remember – for fully licensed drivers it’s illegal to drive with a BAC of over 0.05; for L and P platers the limit is zero).

The problem with walking home drunk (or even a little tipsy) should be pretty obvious. Alcohol impairs your judgement – you can’t accurately judge the speed or distance of an oncoming car. You may think you have enough time to cross the road, but you don’t.

Alcohol also increases confidence and risk-taking which means you feel more cocky and decide it’s a good idea to take your mate up on his dare to play chicken with that 4WD.

Most often, drink walkers are hit just as they step onto the road, and some are hit because they were sitting or lying in the middle of the road.

So where do all these drink walkers get hit? Mostly on 50 and 60 km/h roads, in high-traffic urban areas – think of all those streets which run past pubs and clubs like Oxford Street in Sydney, Crown Street in Wollongong or William Street in Bathurst. And yes, it happens in country areas too.

Predictably, these crashes happen late on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights or early the next morning.

What’s the alternative?

In many instances, walking is still the best (or only) option for drinkers trying to get home. But next time you go out for a big night, consider these options:

• Find out whether your local area has an ‘alternative transport’ option – lots of councils have a late night bus for drinkers.
• Get public transport or a cab at least part of the way. Even if the bus won’t take you all the way home, get on it for as far as possible then walk the rest of the way – at least this minimises the distance you’re walking.
• Always use pedestrian crossings where they are available and try to cross the road in a well lit area.

If you’re driving at night, be aware of drink walkers. Remember they’re unpredictable, so slow down and drive cautiously.

Alternative transport

A lot of local areas have night buses (sometimes free) specifically for people who have been out drinking.

These services are run and funded by various local players such as Liquor Accords, licensed venues and councils to stop people drink driving and drink walking. The RTA also provides some funding towards the promotion of these schemes.

Alternative transport schemes run across the State in areas such as Port Stephens, the Central Coast, Newcastle, Maitland, Wollongong, Nowra, Bowral, Bega, Kiama, Batemans Bay, Sutherland Shire, Manly, Randwick, the Northern Beaches and Ulladulla, as well as in Jindabyne during the snow season.

Check with your local licensed venue or contact your local council (most have pretty good websites) to find out what’s available in your area.