Drinking & Driving

Driving while either intoxicated or drunk is dangerous and drivers with high blood alcohol content or concentration (BAC) are at greatly increased risk of car accidents, highway injuries and vehicular deaths. Possible prevention measures examined here include establishing DWI courts, suspending or revoking driver licenses, impounding or confiscating vehicle plates, impounding or immobilizing vehicles, enforcing open container bans, increasing penalties such as fines or jail for drunk driving, and mandating alcohol education. Safety seat belts, air bags, designated drivers, and effective practical ways to stay sober are also discussed.

THE FACTS

Most drivers who have had something to drink have low blood alcohol content or concentration (BAC) and few are involved in fatal crashes. On the other hand, while only a few drivers have BACs higher than .15, a much higher proportion of those drivers have fatal crashes.

• The average BAC among fatally injured drinking drivers is .16
• The relative risk of death for drivers in single-vehicle crashes with a high BAC is 385 times that of a zero-BAC driver and for male drivers the risk is 707 times that of a sober driver, according to estimates by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
• High BAC drivers tend to be male, aged 25-35, and have a history of DWI convictions and polydrug abuse.

http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/DrinkingandDriving.html

Driving under the influence is a serious health hazard. In the United States, for example, alcohol is estimated to play a role in 39 percent of vehicle-related deaths are caused for the cost of $51 billion annually. More recently it has been reported that alcohol contributes to nearly 30 percent of all Canadian traffic fatalities and 44 percent of traffic fatalities in the United States.

In most countries, anyone who is convicted of injuring or killing someone while under the influence of alcohol or drugs can be heavily fined, as in France, in addition to being given a lengthy prison sentence. Many states in the U.S. have adopted truth in sentencing laws that enforce strict guidelines on sentencing. For example, if a defendant is sentenced to ten years, he or she will be in prison for that entire time. This is different from past practice where prison time was reduced or suspended after sentencing had been issued.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drink_driving

A substantial body of research shows that using a hand-held or hands-free mobile phone while driving is a significant distraction, and substantially increases the risk of the driver crashing.

Drivers who use a mobile phone, whether hand-held or hands-free:

• are much less aware of what’s happening on the road around them
• fail to see road signs
• fail to maintain proper lane position and steady speed
• are more likely to ‘tailgate’ the vehicle in front
• react more slowly and take longer to brake
• are more likely to enter unsafe gaps in traffic
• feel more stressed and frustrated.

They are also four times more likely to crash, injuring or killing themselves and/or other people.

Using a hands-free phone while driving does not significantly reduce the risks because the problems are caused mainly by the mental distraction and divided attention of taking part in a phone conversation at the same time as driving.

The Law

On 1 December 2003, a law, “The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2003”, came into force to prohibit drivers using a hand-held mobile phone, or similar device, while driving. It also made it an offence to “cause or permit” a driver to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving, or to use a hand-held mobile phone while supervising a driver who only has a provisional licence.

The penalties were initially a fixed penalty of £30 or a fine of up to £1,000 if the offender goes to court (£2,500 for drivers of goods vehicles or passenger carrying vehicles with 9 or more passenger seats).

http://www.rospa.com/RoadSafety/advice/driving/mobile_phones.htm

A drink-by-drink guide to the effects of alcohol on your mind and body.

One medium drink (around two units):

• You’re talkative and you feel relaxed.
• Your self-confidence increases.
• You may be over the drink-driving limit.

Two medium drinks (four units):

• Your blood flow increases.
• You feel less inhibited and your attention span is shorter.
• You start dehydrating, one of the causes of a hangover.

Three medium drinks (six units):

• Your libido (sex drive) increases.
• Your reaction time is slower.
• Your liver is having to work harder.

Four medium drinks (eight units):

• You’re easily confused.
• You’re noticeably emotional.
• Your libido (sex drive) decreases.

Five medium drinks (10 units):

• Your vision may be blurred.
• Wine drinkers have drunk the calorie equivalent of four Mars bars.
• If you drive, you're 20 times more likely to have an accident.

Six medium drinks (12 units):

• You may become obnoxious to others.
• You may become depressed.
• You may be slurring your speech and may have poor co-ordination and balance.

Eight medium drinks (16 units):

• You’ll find it very hard to control what you say and do.
• You may feel nauseous.
• You may lose bladder control in a half-asleep state.
• You're at risk of losing consciousness.

Nine to 10 medium drinks and more (18 units+):

• Strong likelihood of losing consciousness.
• You may become incontinent.
• You face an increased heart attack risk.
• You’re at risk of breathing in your own vomit and suffocating.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/alcohol/Pages/Bingedrinking.aspx