ALCOHOL AND DRIVING

BAC

• BAC stands for Blood Alcohol Concentration. Measured in grams per deciliter (g/dl).
• BAC is the measurement used to determine the amount of alcohol in a person's body.
• Drivers with .08 BAC or higher experience significant impairment to their motor skills.
• The law on BAC is .08 lowered from .10 percent allowing more people to be convicted.
• However, underage drinking and driving is not tolerated at all, all minors will be prosecuted.

BAC LEVELS

BAC LEVELS OF IMPAIRMENT

Impaired Driving:
About two out of five Americans will be involved in an alcohol related crash sometime in their life, but many of them will be the intoxicated victim. There's no such thing as a drunk driving accident. Almost all crashes involving alcohol could've been avoided if the person was sober. As a person's BAC levels rise, so do their chances of being in an alcohol related crash. If your BAC level is between .08 and .099 then the risk for you getting into a crash is 11 times greater than for drivers with a level of zero, and young males have a 52 times greater chance. In the US BAC levels are set by state, and most are .10. Gradually states are changing the level to .08 due the amount of fatal crashes from intoxicated drivers.

Underage Drinking:
Kids drink and drive even though they know it's illegal, even adults do it. Still there's no excuse when you get caught, you knew the risk and you took the chance. If you are younger than 21 and convicted of an alcohol-related offense, your driver’s license is automatically taken away from you for one year, even if you weren’t driving. Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) penalties received from underage drinking and driving are added to a minor's record so that if they do it again the penalty is even greater.

CONSEQUENCES OF DUI/DWI

• Fines up to $10,000 and two years in prison. Depends on if it's the 1st,2nd, etc. time.
• If minors are present the driver can get up to 1,000 dollars added to the fine and 30 more days.
• If BAC levels recede .20 or refuses to cooperate the driver can get up to 75 days in jail.
• If the offense occurs more than 4 times the penalties are all raised by 30 more days.
• In addition, the drivers license is confiscated for up to two years( depending on which offense).

ALCOHOL EFFECTS ON DRIVING

• Judgment-the first metal ability to go, which means reason and caution are reduced.
• Concentration- driver's ability to concentrate on multiple tasks in driving, like vehicle speed , traffic, etc.
• Comprehension- ability to "interpret" situations, signs, and signals a driver must understand and respond to.
• Coordination- ability to coordinate motor skills, starting with the fine motor skills (putting key in ignition).
• Vision and hearing acuity- Reduces visual acuity up to 32%, reduces peripheral vision, impairs ability see far.

Myths About Alcohol And Driving
Myth: It’s ok to drive after a couple of drinks. I’ve always driven after taking a drink or two. It makes no difference.
Fact: Any alcohol impairs driving and increases the risk of collision. At (0.08) drivers are six times more likely of having a collision.
MYTH: Testing drivers for alcohol the morning after is a waste of time.
Fact: 21% of fatal road crashes that happen between 6am and 12 noon are alcohol related.
Myth: It’s not my problem. Alcohol has no effect on my driving.
Fact: All drivers are affected by drinking even small amounts of alcohol. Alcohol affects judgement, vision, co-ordination, and reaction time. It causes serious driving errors

ALCOHOLIC CRASHES COST: TOTAL OF 46 BILLION A YEAR

UNDER 21 DRUNK DRIVING FATALITIES: 2004-11