The
BAC
will
be over
0.10
percent after three to
six
drinks (in one hour).
Of
course, as we’ve seen,
it
depcnds
on
how much alcohol
is
in the drinks,
and
how
quickly the person drinks them.
But
the
ability to drive is affected well below a
BAC
of
0.10
percent.
Research shows that the driving skills
of
many people are impaired at a
BAC approaching
0.05
percent, and that
the
effects are worse at night. All
drivers are impaired at BAC levels above 0.05 percent. Statistics show that
the chance of being
in
a collision increases sharply for drivers who have a
BAC
of
0.05
percent or above.
A
driver with a BAC level
of
0.06
percent
has doubled his or her chance
of
having a collision. At a BAC level
of
0.10
percent, the chance
of
this driver having a collision is twelve times
greater; at
a
level
of
0.15
percent, the chance
is
twenty-five times greater!
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.
“I’ll 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.
I
’
CAUTION:
Drinking
and
then
driving is very dangerous.
Your
reflexes,
perceptions, attentiveness and judgment
can
be
affected
by
even
a
smatl
amount
of
alcohol.
You
can
have
a
serious
--
or even
fatal
0-
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.
4-4
To Next Page
Loading...
