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Drunken
Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving
is
a national tragedy. It’s the number one contributor to the
highway death
toll,
claiming thousands
of
victims
every
year.
Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs
to
drive
a
vehicle:
Judgment
Muscular Coordination
Vision
Attentiveness
Police records show that almost half of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases,
these deaths are the result
of
someone who was drinking
and driving. In recent years, some
18,000
annual motor
vehicle-related deaths have been associated with
the
use
of alcohol, with more than
300,000
people injured.
Many adults
--
by some estimates, nearly half the adult
population
--
choose never
to
drink alcohol,
so
they
never drive after drinking. For persons under 21, it’s
against
the
law in every U.S. state
to
drink alcohol.
There are good medical, psychological and
developmental reasons for these laws.
The
obvious
way
to solve this highway safety problem
is
fur
people
never
to
drink alcohol
and
then drive. But
what
if
people do?
How
much
is
“too
much” if the
driver plans
to
drive?
It’s
a
lot less than many might
think. Although it depends
on
each person and situation,
here
is
some
general information on the problem.
The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)
of
someone
who
is
drinking depends upon four things:
How much alcohol consumed
0
The drinker’s body weight
0
The amount
of
food that is consumed before and
during drinking
0
The length
of
time it has taken the drinker
to
consume
the
alcohol
According
to
the American Medical Association,
a
180-pound
(82
kg) person who drinks three 12-ounce
(355
ml) bottles
of
beer in an hour will end up with a
BAC
of
about
0.06
percent. The person would reach the
same BAC by drinking three 4-ounce
(120
ml) glasses
of
wine
or three mixed drinks if each had 1-1/2 ounces
(45
ml)
of
a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka.
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