Delayed Impairment Recognition in Professionals

Recently, researchers reported that those who get behind the wheel after having too many drinks are not aware of their impairment. Research shows that the brain’s reaction time does not keep up with the effects of alcohol on the body. This means that people actually feel as if they are fine, when in reality they are impaired.

Bad Decision Making in Drunk Driving Professionals

These drivers are impaired in their thinking and reaction times. They make bad decisions due to their impairment. The first bad decision they make is drinking and driving. They have trouble gauging speed, going through intersections, changing lanes, maintaining safe traveling distance, and staying in their lane.

Added Dangers of Drunk Driving for Professionals

The impairment in brain function leads many professionals to drink and drive even with the inherent dangers that come with this risky behavior. Not only are there physical and economic dangers for professionals in some states, they may not be able to renew their professional licenses if they have a DWI charge on their record.

Repeated Drunk Driving in Professionals

Another cause of drunk driving in professionals is that the majority of those who drink and drive have done it many times before and have never been caught. Most professionals do not fit the profile of a person that has frequent issues with law enforcement; many DWI stops start as other violation and then escalate into DWI offenses. The average professional does not attract the attention of law enforcement officers. Repeated successful drunk driving trips encourage professionals in believing that they can make it home no matter how drunk they are.

Drunk Driving among General Public and Professionals

Professionals also attend office parties were alcohol is commonly accessible and vigorously promoted. Drinking is a standard part of professional get-togethers and celebrations. The dangerous practice of drinking and driving will continue as a problem among professionals within this type of atmosphere. To address the causes of drunk driving in professionals we must address the use of alcohol in the society as well as in the public.

Help to Keep the Roads Safe by Reporting Drunk Driving

Drunk driving incidents can be prevented if you call law enforcement when you see someone driving under the influence. This could save the life of many people by stopping drunk driving before it is too late. If you suspect someone has had too much drink and is driving impaired, you should call the local highway patrol or police department to report the incident. Make sure to get the license plate number of the motor vehicle and give the location where you spot the drunk driver.

Alcohol Abuse and Impaired Driving is Lethal

If you are going to drink alcohol, make sure you do not get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle and drive while intoxicated (DWI). When you drink alcohol and get behind the wheel of a vehicle, you put your life in danger and you put the lives of others at serious risk, so don’t drink and drive.

How safe your roads are with Impaired Drivers?

No one is safe from drunk drivers. Most drunk drivers think that if they have only a few drinks it will not affect their ability to drive. But this is not the case. Any amount of alcohol that is consumed can affect your ability to properly operate a motor vehicle. Your risk of being in a fatal car crash increases significantly after a couple of drinks. It does not matter how much you think you can handle or how little you drink, it is best that you do not get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle and drive, even if you think you can make it home safely. Maybe you will – maybe you won’t! Why take such a serious risk?

Don’t even think about drinking and getting behind the wheel of your vehicle. Test show that impairment starts long before you reach the blood alcohol content level necessary to be charged with drunken driving.

Legal Limit

In the U.S., the legal limit for drunk driving is a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of .08. A 120 lb. woman might reach a .08 BAC level after only two drinks and a 180 lb. man may be at .08 after only four drinks.

A “drink” is either one shot of liquor, a five ounce glass of wine or one beer, all of which contain the same amount of alcohol. At a .08 BAC level, drivers are so impaired that they are 11 times more likely to have a single-vehicle crash than drivers with no alcohol in their system. But 25 years of research has shown that some impairment begins for both men and women even after one drink.

.02 BAC Level

At the .02 blood alcohol concentration level, experiments have demonstrated that people exhibit some loss of judgment, begin to relax and “feel good”. But tests have also shown that drivers at the .02 level experience a decline in visual function, affecting their ability to track a moving object and experience a decline in the ability to perform two tasks at the same time. This level may not register on a breathalyzer test and will not be noticed with a field sobriety test.

These changes may be very subtle and barely noticeable to the person who has had only one drink, but in an emergency situation while behind the wheel of a vehicle, they could cause the driver to react (or not react) as they would without having had a drink.

.05 BAC Level

At the .05 BAC level, people begin to exhibit exaggerated behavior, experience loss of small-muscle control — such as being able to focus their eyes quickly — have impaired judgment, lowered alertness and a release of inhibition. If someone with a BAC level of .05 gets behind the wheel, they would be operating the vehicle with reduce coordination, a further diminished ability to track moving objects, more difficulty in steering and a markedly reduced response in emergency situations.

.08 BAC Level

When someone drinking is approaching the borderline of legal driving while intoxicated levels studies show that they have poor muscle coordination (affecting their balance, speech, vision, reaction time and hearing), find it more difficult to detect danger, and exhibit impaired judgment, self-control, reasoning ability and memory. A driver with a BAC of .08 will find it more difficult to concentrate, judge the speed of the vehicle, experience reduced information processing capability and exhibit impaired perception.

Slower Reaction Time

For the person who is drinking, these impairments may be hardly noticeable, but the slow reaction times they produce can prove fatal in an emergency driving situation. That’s why it is not a good idea to drive no matter how much or little you have had to drink.

For this reason, in some states, drivers can be arrested for DWI – Driving While Impaired even if their blood alcohol concentration is lower than the legal limit, if the law enforcement officer believes there is probable cause based on the behavior and reactions of the driver.