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HEALTH&HABITAT

Aug/Sept 2011 www.esb.ie/em

NEW DRUG-DRIVING LEGISLATION and changes to drink-driving limits

The ‘HIGH’ road is route to disaster

GRAINNE COOGAN

SAFE DRIVING

The Road Safety Authority and the Gardaí are currently liaising with the Minister for Transport to change legislation dealing with drug-driving and to lower the blood alcohol concentration limit from 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood (0.08) to 50 mgs per 100mls (0.05). Driving under the influence of drugs is as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol. It’s also against the law.

The Law

The Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 1978 makes it an offence to drive a car, motor bike, truck, pedal bike or an animal drawn vehicle while ‘under the influence of an intoxicant to such an extent as to be incapable of having control of the vehicle’.

Intoxicants include alcohol and drugs, whether taken separately or together. The word ‘drugs’ here includes legal prescribed and over the counter (OTC) medicines.

The Road Traffic Bill 2009 will give An Garda Síochána new powers to carry out preliminary impairment tests to help them decide at the roadside whether a driver is under the influence of an intoxicant, including drugs.

Drugs – whether they are prescribed, over-the-counter medicines or illegal substances – can affect your mind and body in ways that make it unsafe for you to drive. Not only that, the effects can last for hours or even days. For example, cannabis shows in urine for up to four weeks after a person takes it.

Drug-drivers usually think they are better drivers while under the influence of some drugs. They also:

• Think they are less likely to have a crash compared with drink drivers,
• Overestimate their ability to make up for any reduced judgement or reaction times, and
• Appear to know little about the effects of driving under the influence of drugs.

Effects of specific drugs*

CANNABIS

Cannabis interferes with your ability or willingness to pay attention, making it extremely dangerous to drive.

Because it makes you more distracted and reduces your motor skills (how easily you move your arms or legs), you are less able to carry out complex tasks such as driving.

A cannabis smoker feels the initial effects of the drug eight or nine seconds after inhalation These effects reach a peak after 10 to 15 minutes, but impairment can last for several hours. Cannabis can also be detected in the body for several weeks after it is taken.

HEROIN

Heroin provides a feeling of euphoria and relief of all pain, but in doing so it slows your reflexes and harms your hand/eye co-ordination.

Drivers on heroin will not be able to see properly, concentrate on the road or react quickly enough to avoid a crash.

COCAINE

Cocaine can make you feel extremely confident, strong and intelligent, but because of this it also seriously harms your judgement.

It is a stimulant, so users are likely to be hyperactive, unable to stand still or to judge time and distance accurately.

ECSTASY

Ecstasy is a hallucinogen and a stimulant. As a result, it exaggerates all emotions. When someone on ecstasy hears a sound, they may believe they can see or smell something that isn’t there. The pupils of their eyes will appear dilated and they will be dazed and lacking in co-ordination. Ecstasy will also affect their balance and their judgement of time and distance.

How drugs affect drivers*

In general, drugs have the following effects on drivers.

• Slower reaction times
• Poor concentration
• Sleepiness and fatigue
• Confused thinking
• Distorted perception (not seeing things as they really appear)
• Over confidence, leading to unnecessary risks
• Reduced co-ordination
• Erratic behaviour
• Nausea
• Hallucinations
• Blurred vision and enlarged pupils
• Aggression
• Panic attacks and paranoia
• Tremors
• Dizziness
• Cramps

(*Source: Thames Valley Police)

For more information email safedriving@esb.ie or visit the Safe Driving Website: http://esbnet/safedriving

OH YES! WE ARE GOING TO KILLARNEY WITH ESB TRAVELCO

Arriving Sunday 11 September. Departing Friday 16 September 2011

Special offer from the excellent Castlerosse Hotel & Golf Resort for ESB Staff, family and friends: only €290 per person sharing, including complimentary half-day trip to Kerry beauty spot.

Castlerosse Hotel commands a majestic view over Lake Leanne, the lower of Killarney’s famous lakes, with a backdrop of the Magillicuddy Reeks Mountains. It is flanked by Killarney National Park, an entrance to which is located in the hotel grounds. A pleasant 30 minute 2 km walk through the park with its magnificent oak and yew trees, with perhaps a glimpse of deer in the distance, brings one to the town. Of course, there is always the shuttle if you do not care to walk! The magnificent Killarney Cathedral is across the road at the end of the walk. Bus Eireann runs buses from Killarney to Tralee, Kenmare, Listowel, Killorglin and many other locations.

OFFER open to ESB Staff, retired staff, family and friends

Two day-trips at reasonable prices will be organised during our stay to famous Kerry attractions, providing there is sufficient interest

Payment in full as soon as possible to secure places and not later than August 12th. Cheques should be made out to ESB Travelco and addressed to ESB Travelco, 27 Herbert Place, Dublin 2.

Enquiries to Joe Weir, mobile 087 9295552, tel 01 6325120, email: jmweir@utvinternet.ie.

OUT OF AFRICA

ELECTRICITY ABROAD

UNTIL NOW, AFRICA has not figured prominently in discussions of CO2 emissions and climate change, for the very good reason that the entire continent consumes just 5 per cent of the world’s energy.

However, a pan-African conference in Abu Dhabi in July heard that rapid economic development in Africa has the potential to worsen the climate change scenario ‘exponentially’.

Adnan Amin, director of the International Renewable Energy Agency, told delegates that because of the number of rapidly growing economies reliant on carbon-based energy sources, Africa must find ways to increase investment in renewables.

“If Africa continues to grow at the pace it is growing… and uses only carbon-emitting forms of energy, it will exponentially change the picture on climate change,” he warned.

RajendarPachauri, chairman of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, told the conference there are great opportunities for hydroelectric, solar and wind power in Africa.

“The potential is enormous. We have over 500 million people without access to electricity. That is a huge niche market that could be tapped in an economically viable way,” he said.

An encouraging sign comes from the UN’s Environment Program which reports that investment in renewable energy has increased by more than 100 per cent in the past year across Africa and the Middle East.

Gambia’s foreign minister Mamadou Tangara noted that although “the initial investment is very high, in terms of sustainability and the long term impact, renewable energy is the way forward for Africa.”

Experts at the conference predicted that as much as 60 per cent of Africa’s energy could come from renewables by 2035.

Renewables overtake nuclear in USA

The US Energy Information Administration reports that American domestic production of renewable energy is now greater than that of nuclear power.

In its latest Monthly Energy Review, the agency says that in the first quarter of 2011, renewable sources accounted for almost 12 per cent of US energy production, 5.65 per cent higher than nuclear power. Even more remarkably, renewable energy production is now at a level more than three-quarters the size of that obtained from domestic crude oil.

Production of renewable energy has increased by more than 25 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2009 and provided almost 13 per cent of U.S. electrical generation.

During the same period, natural gas electrical generation rose nearly 2 per cent, while coal-powered generation actually fell by almost 6 per cent.

World’s top 20 green companies

The global top 20 companies for renewable energy consumption last year have been identified by the wind energy technology firm Vestas.

Leading companies among the top 20 include: Adobe Systems, News Corp, Deutsche Bank, Starbucks, MetLife, Nokia, Allianz and Johnson & Johnson.

Two companies, Kohl’s – a US department store chain – and Whole Foods Inc – a US supermarket chain – obtained all of their electricity from renewable sources.

Adobe Systems obtained around 75 per cent of its energy consumption from renewable sources, while Deutsche Bank and News Corp each obtained about two-thirds of their power requirements from renewables.

Intel was the largest consumer of renewable-sourced electricity, purchasing 1,493GWh, which represents around one-third of its total consumption.