Pontiac 1996 Grand Am Owner's Manual page 150

Drunken Driving
Death,'and injury associated with drinking and drivingis
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:
0
'Judgment
Muscular Coordination
:.2.
.' , ,
*
Vision
Attentiveness.
Police records show that almost half of dl motor
vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol.
In
most cases,
these deaths are the result of someone who was drinking
and driving. In
recent years,
sortle
18,000 annual motlor
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
--
chbose never to
drink
alcohol, so they
never
tirive
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 for 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 prbblem.
The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of someone
who'is drinking depends upon four things:
e
The amount of alcohol consumed
The drinker's body weight
The amount of food
'that
is
consumed before
and
during drinking
consume the alcohol.
The length of time it 'has taken the drinker to
According to the American. Medical Association, a
180-lb. (82 kg) person who elrinks three 12-ounce (355
nil)
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) df a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka,
I .