Drinking & Driving

Sobering-up tricks do not work
Coffee and cold showers the morning after a night out don’t help you sober up. Time is the only way to get the alcohol out of your system and you could still be over the legal limit many hours after drinking.

Drink driving and the law
The legal consequences of a drink driving conviction are severe and long-lasting.

Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs = 14 years’ imprisonment, together with an unlimited fine, disqualification from driving for at least 2 years and a mandatory extended driving test.

Driving or attempting to drive while above the legal limit or unfit through drink or drugs = 6 months’ imprisonment, together with a fine of up to £5,000 and disqualification from driving for at least 12 months (3 years if convicted twice in 10 years).

Being in charge of a vehicle whilst above the legal limit or unfit through drink or drugs = 3 months’ imprisonment, a fine of up to £2,500 and discretionary disqualification from driving.

Refusing to provide a specimen of breath, blood or urine for analysis = 6 months’ imprisonment, together with a fine of up to £5,000 and disqualification from driving for at least 12 months.

No drinks, no excuses

‘I had a drink, but it was at lunchtime.’
Even a small drink at lunchtime makes you sleepier and impairs your driving.

‘I feel fine to drive.’
Any amount of alcohol affects your judgement.

‘I’ve only had a couple.’
Even a single drink makes you drive less well.

‘I’ve had a meal.’
Alcohol still gets into your system and affects your driving.’

‘I can handle my drink.’
Alcohol affects everybody’s driving for the worse. It creates a feeling of overconfidence, makes judging distance and speed more difficult and slows your reactions so it takes longer to stop.

‘I’m only going down the road.’
A large proportion of all drink drive crashes occur within three miles of the start of the journey.

‘I’m driving slowly and carefully.’
Alcohol actually makes you less alert and careful, however slowly you drive.

Latest News On The Cycle To Work Scheme

Unfortunately 3M has decided not to continue with the cycle to work scheme. 3M Northallerton will continue to promote cycling in all it’s forms as a great way to get and keep fit and as a sound environmentally friendly way to commute to and from work. Feelers are going out to have one of our health promotions in 2011 weighted towards cycling, we will keep you informed.

Green Driving Tips

 Making small changes to your driving style, and how you use your car while driving, can make big differences to your environmental impact.

Where possible drive with the windows up to reduce drag and make your fuel consumption more efficient.

Try not to be in a hurry. Stressed driving can be erratic and is uneconomical. Simply relax and try to enjoy the trip.

Try not to beat the lights. The chances are that if you hit a red light and then try to beat all the following lights, you will rush but miss them anyway. If you drive at a more sedate speed you will usually find that by the time you reach the next light it will have turned green again.

Air conditioning should be limited as it uses more fuel.

Switch off the engine if you think you will stationary for more than two minutes.

Keep your speed down as driving at 50-60 mph means your emissions will be lowest. Driving over 70mph will rapidly increase your emissions. It can cost you up to 25% more in fuel to drive at 70mph compared to 50mph.

Avoid unnecessary revving or idling of the engine as this uses more fuel.

Harsh acceleration and braking can use up to 30% more fuel and can cause increased wear and tear on the vehicle.

Control your speed Speed limits are there to be observed, but did you know that travelling at less than 15mph creates the most pollution? As your speed increases up to 60mph, your level of pollution decreases. Travelling over 60mph increases your level of pollution again.

Careful motorway driving will improve safety and traffic flow. The concertina effect caused by one motorist braking sharply often results in traffic slowing to a near stop due to the delayed reaction of drivers behind. If we try to observe the car three or four ahead and give ourselves some distance from the car in front we can anticipate and judge the necessary speed. When you see a car brake up ahead, simply remove your foot from the accelerator. By the time you get close to the car in front the chances are that they will have speeded up. You can almost make yourself responsible for stopping the concertina.

Sports & Social Club – Paintballing

A message from one of the organisers … Louise

Hi Everyone

Just to let you know that the paintballing that took place on Saturday 18th September 2010 was a huge success.

The 13 blokes who took part thoroughly enjoyed themselves and really enjoyed shooting at one another!! There was a really good atmosphere amongst the group and you could tell they were pleased to be taking part in something ‘different’. This is the first event that has been organised by the newly formed Sports and Social club in Northallerton – committee members including Claire Bateman and myself Louise Gossage (secretaries) David Girgan (Treasurer) and Liam Hall (Chairman). Other members of the committee include Gerry Orchard, Andrew Donald, Hamish Hoare, Rob Cowton, Stephen Borrick all helped come up with ideas of what would be a success for our first event and it looks like we chose correctly.

The company where we went to – Scotch Corner Paintballing Village – were very friendly and well organised and made the day run smoothly. They kept the bacon sandwiches and cups of tea flowing to make sure the blokes were fully energised for all the games that they were playing. We will definitely try to do another event there in the future and have spoken to them regarding perhaps organising a 3M Northallerton against 3M Aycliffe paintballing competition there with maybe a family fun day taking place in the background so that everyone – not just the men – can be involved. Trophies can even be provided to the winner!!

On behalf of the committee I would like to thank everyone who turned up and supported the Sports and Social Clubs first event and hopefully future events will see more people attending. We have lots of ideas to suit everyone and so trying to make sure everyone will be able to attend at least one event that is organised.

The next event is hopefully going to be planned for November but details of this will be communicated in the near future.

Just wanted to say thanks again to everyone

Cycle To Work Scheme – September Cancellation

For those who were wishing to participate in the cycle to work scheme this September, I’m afraid that the decision has been made to cancel the scheme. Whether this will affect future dates, we are unsure. But we will keep everyone informed when we get more news.

Northdale Donation

We are happy to announce that we have been able to give a local charity a cheque for £500.

“Northdale Horticulture is a registered charity providing valued occupation and work based activities in woodwork, nursery work, Arts and crafts and landscape gardening. Located on the outskirts of Northallerton, North Yorkshire , approximately fifty adults with a learning disability and or physical disability attend the service on a weekly basis and work in one or more the charity’s four work departments”

Here is a link to the website for some more information or if you would like to volunteer to help out: http://www.northdale.org.uk/

One Year Accident Free

On June 22nd we reached a milestone for the site. A full twelve months without a lost time accident or recordable injury.

To celebrate and to thank all the employees we gave everyone a first aid kit. If you work for the site and you haven’t got one yet, please come and collect yours from the EHS office.

Lyke Wake Walk Grand Total

Its taken a little while to get all the sponsorship money collected in, but yesterday I delivered a grand total of £1755 to the offices of the Great North Air Ambulance in Darlington. This included money donated by workmates, friends and family, and a donation of £100 per person by 3M under the Care & Share scheme.

National Bike Week

From 19th to 27th June is National Bike Week.

To try and encourage more people to use their bikes to commute to and from work, we are holding a “Bike & Butty” event on Friday 25th June.

Anyone who cycles to work on this day gets a bacon butty !!! More details will be available nearer the time.

If you have any other ideas for the week, and are willing to run them, please come and have a chat about them in the EHS office.

http://www.bikeweek.org.uk/index.php

Safety In The Sun

Here’s a guide you can follow to stay safe in the sun – Enjoy your time outdoors and experience the benefits of sunshine.

1. Do not allow your skin to burn. Burning your skin will destroy healthy living tissue. Repeated burns can cause irreversible damage. This can increase your risk of skin cancer! Also, your skin will lose its elasticity if you keep getting sunburned or if you keep deep tanning your skin. This will leave you wrinkled and prematurely aged. Pay attention to sun safety!
2. If you have fair skin, be extra careful. Your skin type can get burned easily which puts this skin type at increased risk of skin cancer. Start with 3 – 4 minutes of exposure each day and slowly and gradually work your way up. Get out of the sun if you start to get pink or feel your skin burning.
3. If you are going out into the sunshine for long periods of time wear protective clothing, sunglasses (with UVA and UVB protection), and a natural sunscreen with sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or more if needed.
4. Apply sunscreen 20 minutes before going out in the sun. Don’t forget about your ears, lips, and nose. Those parts can get burned easily. Apply more sunscreen after you swim or if you have been sweating. Choose a non-toxic natural sunscreen if you can.
5. Be careful when you are outside around snow or water. The reflection from snow and water can increase your exposure to the sun’s rays.
6. If you are planning an outdoor trip or vacation or are planning on spending more time outdoors, start preparing your skin days in advance. You can do this by gradually increasing the amount of time you spend in the sun.
7. Plan to spend time outdoors either in the early morning before 10 am or later on in the afternoon after 4 pm. If you need to be outside between 10 am and 4 pm try to stay in the shade or cover your limbs and wear a hat.
8. Do not go to sleep in the sun. You may wake up and find yourself with a severe burn. Ouch!
9. If you have a baby that is less than one year of age, keep him (or her) out of direct sunlight.
10. If you have any health conditions or are taking any medications, check with your doctor before spending any length of time in direct sunlight. Some medications can make you extra-sensitive to sunlight.
11. Sunlight can lower your blood pressure and blood sugar levels. If you are an insulin dependant diabetic, you need to be very careful when sunbathing to prevent your blood sugar level from dipping too low. Never make changes in your medication without consulting a medical doctor first.

Remember, the key is MODERATION. Not too much sun. Not too little sun.