Posts Tagged ‘Drinking Driving’

Does Drinking Affect your Driving? Myth or Fact?

Posted on May 12, 2011

Research has shown that any amount of alcohol consumed has an effect on your ability to drive a motor vehicle. At a .02 BAC (Blood alcohol content) level, your visual functions decline, you have a much slower reaction time, ability to track a moving object and the ability to perform two tasks at the same time are all affected by alcohol. Does drinking affect your driving? Myth or fact? Continue reading to learn how drinking and DWI (driving while intoxicated) can have serious effects on your ability to properly operate a motor vehicle.

Impaired Driving and Negative Effects of Alcohol

If you only had a little drink, you may not notice any immediate changes in your ability to properly operate a motor vehicle. However, alcohol does have negative effects on your judgment and the way you operate a vehicle. So, it is better to avoid drinking and driving at all costs.

Side Effects of Driving While Intoxicated

Many studies have shown that when consuming alcoholic beverages, drivers find it more difficult to detect danger, and exhibit impaired judgment, less self-control, lack of good judgment, reasoning ability and reacts slower to emergency situations. A motorist with a BAC of .08 percent will find it more difficult to concentrate, judge the speed of the vehicle, experience reduced information processing capability and exhibit impaired perception.

Severe Consequences of Drinking and Driving

Alcohol influences your ability to drive even if it is consumed in small quantities. If you are caught drinking and driving, and you fail the field sobriety test, you will face severe penalties, including driver’s license suspension, mandatory fines and fees, participation in alcohol abuse programs, increased insurance costs, and possible jail time among other serious penalties and consequences of driving while impaired.

If you must drink, find a designated driver to take you home safely, but do not drink and drive. It is not a myth that drinking affects your driving. It is a fact!

Why You Should Never Drink And Drive?

Posted on May 22, 2009

Don’t you think we are talking about something very obvious? Yes, we are. If people had understood the seriousness of Driving while Intoxicated (DWI) laws, offenses and their consequences, there would have been no need for a discussion like this in the first place, no laws, no regulations and no enforcement wings and above all no accidents. Unfortunately no one has really understood the consequences of DWI offense and the far reaching impact it can create in the life of the drivers and others on road.

The question here is not about whether you should drink or not, but whether you can drive or not when you are drunk. A detailed research shows that alcohol abuse at any level indicated with the help of Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) level causes a person to lose control or impairs him/her of their ability to drive a vehicle, leading to accidents.

Legally Allowed Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) Level

Under DWI laws and regulations a certain limit has been fixed by the authorities called the legally accepted BAC level, which is at .08. This has been widely accepted in all the fifty states in the country. The BAC level of a person depends on the number of drinks consumed by him. It is important to define the term ‘drink’ as it varies depending upon what you drink. A shot of liquor or five ounces of wine or one beer all of these contain same level of alcohol.

It is said that drivers measuring .08 alcohol levels are close to eleven times more prone to a vehicle mishap than others who do not consume alcohol. There may be a change in the level of impairment, but the fact is that impairment starts the moment they consume alcohol irrespective of gender.

Various BAC Levels And Their Implications

S.No	BAC Level	Effects	Legal Implications
1	.02	Loss of judgment, impaired vision, inability to track moving objects, difficulty in performing simultaneous tasks. Visual signs are unnoticed, driving remains disturbed	Nil
2	.05	Loss of muscle control, reduced coordination with the vehicle, lower levels of alertness, inability to judge, difficulty in focusing their eyes quickly, reduced response during emergency.	Except for physical impairment at its beginning level there is no legal implication.
3	.08 – The Legal Limit	Loss of self control, imbalance, talking and visual impairment, lack of reasoning, unclear memory, extremely poor muscle control and coordination. Inability to judge the speed of vehicle and reduced perception makes it impossible to drive safely.	Crossing this limit, the driver is subject to conviction under DWI law, which results in suspension of driving license, heavy penalties and imprisonment or jail term.

When Is It Safe To Drive?

Any amount of alcohol abuse leads a person to impairment in his physical and mental abilities. Hence the safest possible method is not to drive, no matter how much you drink. Severe consequences of DWI offense only signify the seriousness with which drunken driving incidents are being curbed to ensure public safety and safety of the person driving the vehicle. So, how safely do you drive? If you have any such experience which you find worthwhile sharing please do!

Alcohol Abuse, DWI, DWI Issues, DWI Laws2 Comments »BAC Blood Alcohol Content Drinking Driving Drunken Driving DWI DWI Issues