Alcohol brings extra risk to the roads on New Year’s Eve
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHPEOPLE DRINK at Jerusalem’s Casino de Paris bar, something(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Law-enforcement and medical-services personnel are preparing to meet with more than the usual Saturday-night drunkenness this New Year’s Eve.Magen David Adom said it has boosted its readiness to deal with the inebriated and to be especially aware of how people are driving. Every year, its crew members have had to treat teenagers and adults for drunkenness, and the road accidents and violence that result from it.Alcohol abuse can cause confusion, memory loss, poor coordination and severe tiredness, all of which are deadly for drivers and everyone else on the roads they travel. It can cause loss of consciousness or, in severe cases, death.Never drive if you have been drinking, MDA says. If you intend to drink, another person who does not touch alcohol should drive, or take public transport instead.If an inebriated person vomits, put him on his side. Do not let him drink coffee or any other liquid, and do not leave an open bottle of alcohol near him. In bars and restaurants, do not leave a bottle or glass of alcohol unsupervised, as someone could introduce chemicals or drugs into them.Parents should do their best to make sure children under 18 do not drink alcohol.Young people should not enter overcrowded halls, as violence could result.Petah Tikva’s Schneider Children’s Medical Center warns that pregnant women should not drink alcohol, as it can be very harmful to the fetus.Dr. Yehuda Santzky, head of the clinic for diagnostics, follow-up and treatment of children exposed to alcohol during pregnancy, said that alcohol is one of the most dangerous substances for a fetus.It can cause irreversible damage to the neurological system and various organs, as it passes from the mother’s circulatory system through the placenta.