Author: Charles Frank
The Dangers of Drinking and Driving
A first-time offense can cost the driver upwards of $10,000 in fines and legal fees. According to a 2014 study, an adult driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 is seven times more likely to be involved in a fatal motor vehicle crash than a sober driver. Young adult drivers (ages 21-34) with a 0.08 BAC are 12 times as likely to be in a fatal car crash than drivers who haven’t had alcohol. It’s all too easy for us to forget that when we get behind the wheel of a car, we are accepting the risk of bodily harm to ourselves and to others. We have sadly become desensitized to the endemic of car crashes as cars are the most widely used mode of transportation. A cohesive, informed, combined approach is crucial for us to reduce all crash-related injuries and deaths.
Consider calling a cab or using a rideshare app to get yourself and your loved ones home safe and protect everyone else on the road. Better yet, if you are going to be drinking away from home, use those options to get to the party so you don’t have a car handy that you’ll be tempted to drive when your judgment is impaired by alcohol. Your life and the lives of others on the road are at risk every time a driver gets behind the wheel after drinking. Mass media campaigns are an important component of national and local road safety strategies. The enforcement of drink-driving laws must be accompanied by strong public awareness campaigns, using mass media and other strategic communications, on the risks of drink-driving and the presence of enforcement activities.
The and 45-to-49 age groups had the highest percent, 35%, of drunk motorcycle riders killed in 2021. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. We receive advertising fees from purchases through the BetterHelp links below. Drinking alcohol lowers inhibitions and can cause some to make dangerous decisions such as driving under the influence.
Save lives: a road safety technical package
Treatment providers are available 24/7 to answer your questions about rehab, whether it’s for you or a loved one. Submit your number and receive a free call today from a treatment provider. BAC is measured with a breathalyzer, a device that measures the amount of alcohol in a driver’s breath, or by a blood test. Alcohol is a substance that reduces the function of the brain, impairing thinking, reasoning and muscle coordination.
- In recent years, 21 to 24 year olds had the highest percentage of drivers in fatal crashes with a BAC level of 0.08% or higher – 32%.
- Resources need to be available for identifying cases and making treatment available for them.
- The enforcement of drink-driving laws must be accompanied by strong public awareness campaigns, using mass media and other strategic communications, on the risks of drink-driving and the presence of enforcement activities.
- Any amount of alcohol in your bloodstream can impact your driving ability.
- Drinking alcohol lowers inhibitions and can cause some to make dangerous decisions such as driving under the influence.
Motor vehicle wrecks are the leading cause of death in the United States for persons between 15 and 24, whether as the driver or the passenger. Among drivers ages who die in crashes, around one in five had at least some alcohol in their system. Alcohol consumption impairs your thinking, reasoning and muscle coordination — all vital to operating a vehicle safely. Recently, I was pleased to hear about a federal infrastructure bill in the works that would require auto manufacturers to install technology to prevent drunk driving. According to an article in Time, the technology may involve passive monitoring of a driver’s breath, eye scans to check for focus, or infrared touch tests on ignition buttons. Alcohol, no matter how much or how little, can influence your concentration.
Inhibit Judgment
Legislation should stipulate upper BAC limits for drivers at a maximum of ≤ 0.05 g/dL or lower for the general population, and at 0.02 g/dL or lower for novice and commercial drivers. If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact local law enforcement. Now add two more beers to your total, you are up to having consumed a six-pack and have likely passed the 0.10 BAC level. Your likelihood of having an accident is now 48 times higher than the abstainer. That’s one in every four children who died in traffic crashes that year.
Then it passes into the bloodstream where it accumulates until it is metabolized by the liver. A person’s alcohol level is measured by the weight of the alcohol in a certain volume of blood. At a BAC of .08 grams of alcohol per deciliter (g/dL) of blood, crash risk increases exponentially. Because of this risk, it’s illegal in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to drive with a BAC of .08 or higher, except in Utah where the BAC limit is .05.
That’s a total of 13,384 people who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in one year. In 2021, there were 2,226 people killed in alcohol-related crashes where a driver had a BAC of .01 to .07. In the United States, roughly 28 people die every day in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver.
How alcohol affects driving ability
Many states have enacted various laws in an effort to reduce the dangers of drinking and driving. For instance, zero tolerance laws are aimed at adolescents who get behind the wheel of a car after consuming alcohol. Drinking under the age of 21 is illegal in the United States and comes with strict punishment.
Some drivers may not even show warning signs of being under the influence, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less dangerous. It’s important to remember that any form of drinking and driving is illegal and can come with strict punishment. Of particular concern are teen drivers that frequently engage in risk-taking behaviors such as driving under the influence of alcohol. Many would argue this feels too much like state control over individual choice and freedom.
Drunk Driving Statistics
In 2021, 5,932 people operating a motorcycle were killed in traffic crashes. Of those motorcycle riders, 1,624 (29%) were drunk (BAC of .08 g/dL or higher). The problem lies in the fact that impairment begins long before you reach the 0.08 level. Scientific research explicitly shows that some of the skills that you need to drive safely begin to deteriorate even at the 0.02 blood-alcohol level.
Road traffic crashes are a major source of injury, disability and death throughout the world and road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among people aged years. Road users who are impaired by alcohol have a significantly higher risk of being involved in a crash. Driving under the influence of alcohol, or drink-driving, is a key risk factor for 27% of all road injuries.
Such measures might, for instance, address infrastructure and speed limits. When it comes to drunk driving, it affects more than just the driver. In 2021, among children (14 and younger) killed in motor vehicle crashes, 25% were killed in drunk-driving crashes. Of those deaths, more than half the time (55%) the child killed was in the vehicle driven by the drunk driver. Every day, about 37 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes — that’s one person every 39 minutes.
As we share the roadways, so must we also share in the responsibility for safety and crash prevention. The second highest alcohol-related crash risk includes individuals between the ages of 21 to 24. In recent years, 21 to 24 year olds had the highest percentage of drivers in fatal crashes with a BAC level of 0.08% or higher – 32%. Many of these cases involved binge drinking, a form of consuming too much alcohol in a short period of time. This often affects college students and young professionals who attend parties and other social events that have easy access to alcohol. Repeat offenders who drink and drive are a very real, very deadly problem.
The vehicle cannot be operated unless the driver blows into the interlock and has a BAC below a pre-set low limit, usually .02 g/dL. NHTSA strongly supports the expansion of ignition interlocks as a proven technology that keeps drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel. If you had those first two beers that raised your BAC to 0.04 and now you drink two more beers to raise your BAC to 0.08, your likelihood of an accident goes up drastically.