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September 10, 2018

Drinking and driving is never a good idea. With more police officers on patrol keeping an eye out for impaired drivers, the risk of drinking and driving continues to increase. The effects of alcohol are extremely dangerous and will cause anyone behind the wheel to lose control. For that reason, driving should be avoided at all costs after drinking. When you are drunk it is not time to be a hero. It is time to play it safe by calling a friend, a cab, or a relative to come and pick you up. Let’s take a look at the real ways alcohol affects driving from the Alcohol Rehab Guide from Beach House Center for Recovery:

Reaction Time

First and foremost, your reaction time begins to slow down as soon as your blood alcohol content (BAC) exceeds .02 even though the legal limit in most states is .08. As your reaction time slows, it is more difficult to respond to the actions of motorists and pedestrians as you pass them by. That is an extremely dangerous effect of driving after consuming alcohol because you may not react in time and hit a pedestrian or vehicle.

Drowsiness

Alcohol affects driving through increased drowsiness as well. That leads to drivers falling asleep at the wheel or simply becoming extremely slow. They may drive off the road, into a tree, into another car, or a number of other potential hazards.

Vigilance

This term describes the amount of attention a driver can use to focus on one task. A low amount of vigilance and the task of driving becomes much more difficult. Studies show that vigilance begins to decline dramatically after .03 BAC level. There is serious driving impairment due to alcohol if a driver’s vigilance is reduced.

Perception

When your brain is telling you that something is further away than it actually is, that is a significant problem while driving. Similarly, the perception of other roadside activities is distorted under the influence of alcohol. After a BAC of .04, drivers begin to lose their sense of accurate perception.

Learn About Your State and Local Laws

RoadGuard Interlock is a leading provider of ignition interlock devices (IID). For more information on the consequences of drinking and driving, view your state and local laws.

 

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