It's
really not a question of whether or not you’re legally drunk. It's a question
of whether or not it is safe for you to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle
when you have consumed any amount of alcohol. Recent research shows that
driving impairment starts long before a person reaches the blood alcohol
concentration level necessary to be guilty of drunken driving. After reading
this article, you can decide whether you’ll need a designated driver, cab or
luxury sedan next time you go out to party.
In
all 50 states, the legal limit for drunk driving is a blood alcohol
concentration (BAC) level of .08. That means a 120-pound woman can reach a .08
BAC level after only two drinks and a 180-pound man can be at .08 after only
four drinks. A "drink" in this case 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 when
compared drivers who have had no alcohol at all. But 25 years of research has
shown that some impairment begins for both sexes even after one drink.
At
the .02 blood alcohol level, experiments have shown that people have 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 functions, affecting
their ability to track a moving object, as well as experience a decline in the
ability to perform two tasks at the same time.
These changes are barely noticeable
to the person who has had only one drink. But in an emergency situation, while
behind the wheel of a vehicle, this drink could impair the driver’s reactions
as they would without having had a drink.
At
the .05 BAC level, people begin to show exaggerated behavior, experience loss
of small-muscle control -- such as being able to focus their eyes quickly --
while having 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 diminished
coordination, a further reduced ability to track moving objects, more
difficulty in steering and a very reduced response in emergency situations.
When
someone drinking is approaching the edge of legal intoxication, studies show
that he or she has poor muscle coordination -- affecting their balance, speech,
vision, reaction time and hearing. This individual finds 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. When
you drink alcohol, your impairments may be hardly noticeable at the time, but
the slow reaction times that they can produce could prove fatal in an
emergency-driving situation. So it’s truly not a good idea to drive no matter
how much or how little that you have had to drink.
Here’s something else to consider --
alcohol affects people differently. Some people have a higher response to
drinking alcohol than others. This means that people with a high response to
alcohol can experience signs of impairment at the .02 BAC level that others do
not experience until the .05 level. It’s
for this reason, in some states, drivers can be arrested for driving while
impaired, even if their blood alcohol concentration is lower than the legal
limit. Especially if the law enforcement officer believes he or she has
probable cause based on the behavior and reactions of the driver.
Checker
Sedan is a premier mode of transportation that Detroit residents and visitors
can use as their designated driver when they are out on the town. Checker Sedan,
www.checkersedan.com,
was established in March 2000 and has become the fastest growing
chauffeur-driven licensed luxury sedan company in Metropolitan Detroit. Checker Sedan is an affiliate of Soave
Enterprises, a privately held management and investment company founded by
Detroit businessman Anthony L. Soave.
Checker Sedan is the official curbside luxury sedan provider for Detroit
Metro Airport. |
