Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else. ~Will Rogers
More than half a million British skiers and snowboarders will be on the slopes impaired by alcohol this winter. This is according a new survey by a British insurance company. The survey found that 74 percent of respondents (1.072 people) claimed that drinking heavily the night before does not affect their skiing.
The insurance company, MORE TH>N, said it expected nearly 2.5 million British skiers at resorts across Europe this season, with 23 percent of those people expecting to drink 18 units of alcohol on at least one night out, leaving more than twice the legal limit of alcohol for drivers in their systems the next morning.
With the average intermediate level skier travelling at speeds up to 20 miles per hour, the threat of serious accidents is a real one.
“Drunk driving is severely frowned upon and drunk skiing should be too. It is just as dangerous,” said a MORE TH>N statement.
The company concluded that many British skiers will finish drinking and be asleep by 1 a.m., and be on the ski slopes at 9 a.m. That would mean that the average-weight skier will have seven units of alcohol in their body when they start skiing for the day.
Such skiers would be prone to impaired balance, reduced visual acuity, impaired perception and a loss of critical judgment.