Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with
drinking and driving is a national
tragedy. It’s the number one contributor
to the highwizy death toll, claiming
thousands of victims every year.
Alcohol takes away three things that
anyone needs to drive a vehicle:
Judgment
Muscular Coordination
Vision
Police records show that half of all
motor vehicle-related deaths involve
alcohol-a driver,
a passenger or
someone else, such
as a pedestrian, had
been drinking. In most cases, these
deaths are the result of someone
who
was drinking and driving. Over 25,000
motor vehicle-related deaths occur each
year because
o€ alcohol, and thousands
of people are injured. Just
how much alcohol is too much
if a
person plans to drive? Ideally, no one
should drink alcohol and then drive. But
if one does, then what’s ‘900 much”? It
can
be a lot less than many might think.
Although it depends an each person and
situation, here is some general
information
on the problem.
The Blood Alcohol Content
(BAC) of
someone who is drinking depends upon
four things:
How much alcohol is in the drink.
The drinker’s body weight.
The amount of food that is consumed
before and during drinking.
The length of time it has taken the
drinker to consume the alcohol. According to
the American Medical
Association,
a 18.O-pound (82 kg) person
who
drinks three 12-ounce (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 thee 4-ounce
(120 ml) glasses
of wine or three mixed drinks if each
had
1% ounces (45 rnl) of a liquor like
whiskey, gin or vodka.
It’s the amount
of alcohol that counts.
For example, if the
same person drank
three double martinis
(3 ounces or
90 ml of liquor each) within an hour,
the person’s
BAC would be close to
0.12 percent. A person who consumes
food just before or during drinking will
have
a slightly lower BAC level.
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