Drunken Driving - Pontiac Vibe 2003 Owner's Manual

Drunken Driving

Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is
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:
D
Judgment
D
Muscular Coordination
D
Vision
D
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'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 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's 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:
D
The amount of alcohol consumed
D
The drinker's body weight
D
The amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking
D
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
(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
of wine or three mixed drinks if each had 1
(45 ml) of a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka.
-
ounce
-
ounce (120 ml) glasses
-
1/2 ounces
4-3