Table of Contents
Advertisement
The law in most
US.
states sets the legal
limit at a BAC of
0.10 percent. In
Canada the limit is 0.08 percent, and
in some other countries it's lower than
that. The BAC
will be over 0.10 percent after three to six drinks (in one
hour).
Of course,
as
we've seen, it
depends
on how much alcohol
is in the
drinks, and how quickly the person drinks them.
But it's very important
to keep in mind that 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.
Al l drivers are impaired at
BAC levels above 0.05 percent.
Statistics show that
the chance of being in an accident increases sharply for
drivers who have a BAC of
0.05 percent or above. A driver with a BAC level
of 0.06 percent (three beers in one hour for a 180-pound or
82 kg person)
has doubled his
or
her chance of having an accident. At a BAC level
of
0.10
percent, the chance of that driver having an accident
is six times, greater; at
a level of 0.1 5 percent, the chances are twenty-five times greater! And, the
body takes about an hour
to rid itself of the alcohol
in one drink. No amount
of coffee or number
of cold showers wi l l speed that up.
"1' 1 1 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 a
higher 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. That's especially true for brain, spinal cord and heart
injuries. That means that
if anyone who has been
drinking-driver or
passenger-is in a crash, the chance of being kiiled or permanently disabled
is higher than if that person had not been drinking. And we've already seen
that the chance of a crash itself is higher for drinking drivers.
-
. . .
. .
. . . .
.
Drinking and then driving is very dangemus. Your rekxes,
A
perceptions, and judgment wit1
be
affected
by
even a
small
amount
of alcohol.
You
caufd have a serious-or even fatal-accident i f
you
drive after dtinking. Please don't drink
and
drive or ride with
8
dhver,
I
.
who 'has been drinking. Ride home in a
cab;
or if
you're
with a
',group,
designate a driver
who
will not drink,
4-1 1
Advertisement
Chapters
Table of Contents
