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Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is
a national tragedy. It is 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, more than
16,000 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 is 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 eliminate the leading highway
safety problem is for people never to drink alcohol
and then drive. But what if people do? How much is
“too much” if someone plans to drive? It is 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:
• The amount of alcohol consumed
• The drinker’s body weight
• The amount of food that is consumed before
and during drinking
• The length of time it has taken the drinker to
consume the alcohol
According to the American Medical Association,
a 180 lb (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 liquors like whiskey, gin,
or vodka.
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