|
A huge number of fatalities usually happen during the holiday season due to drunk driving. The holiday season is upon us and the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve is reported to be the most dangerous season due to alcohol related injuries and fatalities. If you plan to drink do not drive, designate a safe driver to take you home.
How much Alcohol is too much?
Because people react differently to the effects of alcohol consumption, it is very difficult to judge your own blood and alcohol concentration level. A person may not actually feel drunk but may be legally drunk. The likelihood of getting into a fatal car accident increases with every sip of alcohol you consume. Consuming any amount of alcohol will slow down your reaction time and good judgment. Research shows that impairment begins long before a person reaches the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of .08. A person with a blood alcohol level of .08 to .10 is considered to be legally intoxicated. A driver with the blood alcohol concentrated (BAC) of 0.10 or greater is more likely to be involved in a fatal motor vehicle than a driver who has not consumed any alcohol.
How Consuming Alcohol can affect your Driving
There are serious risks involve if you decide to operate a vehicle while intoxicated. You can harm yourself and cause bodily injury or even death to others. Any amount of alcohol prior to operating a motor vehicle will increase your chances of a catastrophic situation. Listed below are a few reasons why you should avoid drinking and driving.
- Slower reaction time: Driving requires that you can react quickly to emergency situations. You do not have to be drunk in-order for your reflexes to be impaired. A buzz is all it takes to impair your reaction time, thus causing you to overact and losing control of the wheel and causing a delay in reaction of the brake and gas pedal.
- Alertness impaired: To drive safely you need to be alert and aware of your surroundings at all times. Alcohol consumption alters the normal function of the brain and body thus causing you to be less alert and aware, which can affect your driving and ability to make quick decisions and good judgment.
- Blurred Vision: Alcohol consumption also affects your vision. Your vision may get blurred or doubled due to alcohol consumption making it hard to tell whether pedestrians, other vehicles or objects are close or far away.
- Feeling of Overconfidence: People who drive after drinking may get an overwhelming feeling of confidence and not recognize that their driving is impaired. In most cases a driver who is overconfident when driving while intoxicated tends to drive more carelessly and recklessly, often times speeding, weaving from lane to lane or driving off the road and not noticing.
Drunk Driving Facts
If you get a DUI charge and/or conviction, your records will be altered. A DUI on your record can affect you life in many ways, even years after your conviction. Your DUI record is kept by Law enforcement agencies, the legal system and the department of motor vehicle (DMV). Access of your records can also be granted to several different parties, such as insurance companies, colleges, military and employers, causing devastating effects to your future.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, motor vehicle wrecks due to alcohol consumption are the leading cause of death in the United States. Law enforcement agencies across the nation are now issuing stiffer penalties to drunken driving violators in the hope that this will deter people from driving while intoxicated.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reported, in 2003 approximately 4 percent of people who reported driving under the influence (DUI) in the past year had been arrested and booked for DUI in the past year.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 41,059 people died in traffic crashes in 2007 in the United States.
In 2004, 30 percent of all fatal crashes during the week were alcohol-related, compared to 51 percent on weekends and holidays.
18-20 year olds are responsible for more than 10 percent of drunk driving in the United States.
Have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season! |
