If you intend to get drunk, leave the driving to the sober

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It is rare that this edit space looks to lessons from overseas reports. Yet, we live in a world which has shrunk with the Internet, and that means reading and learning from what happens beyond our borders too. On the last day of the year, when some will be partying hard with liquid nourishment for company, a report from Japan catches the eye and has some lessons for us, too.

We read that Japanese police cracked down, suspending car driving licences of hundreds of cyclists after they were caught riding bicycles under the influence of alcohol, reports stated. The action, authorities stated, was warranted as these very offenders on two wheels posed a ‘likely' danger on four wheels too, i.e. when driving a car. Drunk cyclists also faced stricter penalties, including fines and jail time, under new rules. This is because Japanese authorities have figures showing that riding drunk also leads to serious accidents.

This shows that the Land of the Rising Sun has a non-negotiable approach to drink driving, taking all factors into perspective, even drunk riding and working on the premise that drunk cycling is likely to lead to drunk driving.

Keep off the steering wheel even if you think you have just had a little as judgement is often clouded. There are any number of drivers who believe they are in ‘control' of the vehicle. Yet decisions and reflexes are compromised and sometimes it is too late to realise that.

As dangerous as alcohol and the wheel is sleepy drivers at the wheel. This too needs to be factored in. Do not take the wheel if sleep deprived, tonight or from partying late which eats into your sleep time. A sleepy driver is a deadly and dangerous one. Keep off the road if booze-compromised or sleep-deprived and make safety for yourself and others your priority fix, beginning 2026.