All drivers are impaired at BAC levels above
0.05 percent. Statistics show that the chance of being
in a collision increases sharply for drivers who have
a BAC of 0.05 percent or above. A driver with a BAC
level of 0.06 percent has doubled his or her chance
of having a collision. At a BAC level of 0.10 percent,
the chance of this driver having a collision is 12 times
greater; at a level of 0.15 percent, the chance is
25 times greater!
The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol
in one drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold
showers will speed that up. “I will be careful” is not the
right answer. What if there is an emergency, a need
to take sudden action, as when a child darts into
the street? A person with even a moderate BAC might
not be able to react quickly enough to avoid the
collision.
There is something else about drinking and driving that
many people do not know. Medical research shows
that alcohol in a person’s system can make crash
injuries worse, especially injuries to the brain, spinal
cord, or heart. This means that when anyone who has
been drinking — driver or passenger — is in a crash,
that person’s chance of being killed or permanently
disabled is higher than if the person had not been
drinking.
{CAUTION:
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness,
and judgment can be affected by even a
small amount of alcohol. You can have a
serious — or even fatal — collision if you
drive after drinking. Please do not drink and
drive or ride with a driver who has been
drinking. Ride home in a cab; or if you are with
a group, designate a driver who will not drink.
Control of a Vehicle
You have three systems that make your vehicle go
where you want it to go. They are the brakes, the
steering, and the accelerator. All three systems have
to do their work at the places where the tires meet
the road.
Sometimes, as when you are driving on snow or ice,
it is easy to ask more of those control systems than the
tires and road can provide. That means you can lose
control of your vehicle.
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