THREE DRUNKS AN HOUR TO BE SAFE

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30470, 18 June 1964, Page 10

THREE DRUNKS AN HOUR TO BE SAFE

CN.Z. Press MELBOURNE, June 16. The Royal Commission on Victorian liquor laws,-Sir P. D. Phillips,- Q.C., today reviewed statistics of his recent experimental “smoke social” and advised: “Keep to three drinks an hour to be safe.”

Fourteen people attended the “smoke social” and were tested by breathalyzer as the evening—and the drinking—progressed. Six of them exceeded a blood alcohol percentage of 0.05, the maximum "limit of prudence” defined by Mr Phillips. “At this limit a person may not feel very affected by his drinking, but his reactions can be sufficiently impaired to make him a danger on the roads,” Mr Phillips said. Precautions were taken to see - that the affected “subjects” reached home safely, he said. Normal Drinking During the two and a halfhour “smoke social,” participants Were asked to drink as they would normally at a party of this type, where they would listen to speeches, perhaps have some entertainment, talk generally and eat only lightly—biscuits and cheese. The lightest drinker was No. 6, with a low count of 6.01 after only four 7oz glasses • of beer. The “highest." was No. 4, . who between 8.5 p.m. and 10.26 p.m. had 15 beers, which took his count to 0.146. The 14 guinea pigs were Mr Phillips, Mr K. Coleman (counsel assisting the com--mission), Mr L. T. Dudley (commission secretary), Mr J. Thorp (Traffic Commissioner), Dr. J. Starr, Mr R. McLellan (Education. Depart-

ment). Professor P. Brett (Melbourne University law School), Mr N. McPhee (representing Carlton and United Breweries, Ltd.), Mr V. Gibson (past-president of the Wine, and Food Society), Mr K..-Garden (production manager of United Distillers Pty., Ltd.), Mr B. Fuller (Chamber of Automotive Industries), Mr J. Kellaway (Australian Hotels Association), Mr H. Clarke (Road Safety Council), and Mr M. Hanson .(student representative council, Melbourne University).