The body takes about an hour to rid itself
of
the alcohol
in one drink.
No
amount
of
coffee or number
of
cold
showers will speed that up. “1’11 be careful” isn’t the
right answer. What if there’s an emergency, a need
to
take sudden action, as when
a
child darts into the street?
A
person with even a moderate
BAC
might not be able
to react quickly enough to avoid the collision.
There’s something else about drinking and driving that
many people don’t know. Medical research shows that
alcohol in
a
person’s system can make crash injuries
worse, especially injuries to the brain, spinal cord or
heart.
This
means that when anyone who has been
drinking
--
driver or passenger
--
is in a crash, that
person’s chance
of
being killed or permanently disabled
is higher than if the person had not been drinking.
A
CAUTION:
DriLing and then driving is very dangerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness and
judgment can be affected by even
a
small amount
of alcohol. You can have a serious
--
or even
fatal
--
collision
if
you drive after drinking.
Please don’t drink and drive or ride with
a
driver
who
has been drinking. Ride home in
a
cab; or if
you’re with a group, designate
a
driver who will
not drink.
4-5