Alcohol and driving have always been a potentially lethal combination. Drivers who have been drinking pose a greater threat to themselves and others than any other type of driver on the road because of impaired judgment, depth perception and reaction times. Alcohol-related car accidents happen because people overestimate their alcohol tolerance levels or driving ability. Knowing the facts about alcohol and driving can save multiple lives.
Why Alcohol Is Harmful To Drivers
Alcohol is a depressant; it slows down the functioning of the brain by interfering with neurotransmitters. Drinking alcohol affects specifically the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for processing sensory input and initiating voluntary muscle movement. Alcohol impairs the cerebellum, which, according to www.Blood Alcohol.info, coordinates voluntary muscle movement. If these functions are impaired, driving safely is difficult or even impossible.
Why People Drink and Drive
Scientists have studied the effects of alcohol on the brain since the 1920s, and over the decades they have documented results thoroughly. However, people still drink and drive. The human liver metabolizes 1/2 ounce of alcohol per hour, according to the McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois. This is because alcohol bypasses the digestive process; the majority of alcohol goes through the stomach into the small intestine, where the bloodstream absorbs it and sends it to the heart, lungs and brain.
Alcohol-Related Fatality Statistics
According to SADD, or Students Against Drunk Driving, 24 percent of males ages 15 to 20 who had a fatal car accident in 2005 had been drinking. Another danger of driving while impaired is the lack of a seat belt. Sixty-four percent of drivers in fatal alcohol-related accidents were not wearing a safety belt. Alcohol doesn't just impair teenagers' driving abilities; 39 percent of all auto accidents were caused by alcohol. At night, when drinking occurs most heavily, the percentage of crashes is three times greater. There are ways to decrease the risk of having an alcohol-related accident.
Time Frame
Alcohol takes time to make its way through the body and work its effects. Pace your drinks slowly if you must drink. If you plan to drive, wait at least four hours before driving after your last drink. Because the liver processes 1/2 ounce of alcohol per hour, and the average drink is 8 ounces, it takes four hours on average for the alcohol to completely leave the body. If you can't wait, call a taxi or have a sober friend drive you home. The safest alternative, however, is to abstain from alcohol.
Misconceptions
A common misconception drivers have about getting on the road when drinking is that if they don't feel drunk, the alcohol has had no effect. Even the smallest drop of alcohol in the bloodstream can slow reaction time just enough to contribute to an accident, even if the difference isn't consciously noticeable. Also, common remedies suggested to quickly sober up such as milk, coffee or food don't work. Food does help to slow metabolization of alcohol, but the only way to truly get alcohol out of the body is to wait for the liver to naturally process it.
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