Drinking and Driving Crashes

Statistics on Drinking and Driving Crashes

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

• In 2006, approximately 13,470 people died in drinking and driving crashes.
• Most of these crashes involved people between the ages of 21 and 34.
• Most fatal alcohol-related car accidents happen on weekdays.
• Females are 385 times and men are 707 times more likely to get into an auto accident after drinking, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

How Alcohol Impairs Driving Performance

Alcohol is a depressant. It does not only help you feel calmer and in some cases, depressed, it slows down vital bodily functions necessary while driving. Most people don't know they are driving unsafely because they are unable to focus on what they are actually doing while driving. Here are some other effects of drinking and driving that could lead to a lethal crash.

• Inattention

You may have a harder time focusing on what you are doing. You have probably noticed that when you have too much to drink, you have a hard time talking to someone for a long time without changing topics. When you are in the car, you may look away from the road if something catches your attention.

• Loss of Psychomotor Skills

Depending on your Blood Alcohol Level (BAL), your psychomotor skills can be impaired in a number of ways. The first skill that you may have a hard time doing is staying in the lanes because steering and looking where you are suppose to go is difficult. Your reaction time may be much slower as well. You may not be able to step on the brake fast enough when a red light appears or when someone in front of you stops.

• Impaired Perception

When you are intoxicated, you may not be able to tell how close a car is in front of you. You may also not know how far the red light is in front of you. When changing lanes, you may think other cars are far enough behind when they really are not.

• Blurred Vision

When you drink alcohol, your brain has trouble receiving signals from your eyes. This means you will have a harder time seeing things on the road. This could be devastating if you don't see a pedestrian or someone on a bike.

• Drowsiness

If you feel drowsy and fall asleep while driving, you will undoubtedly crash.

What Happens if You Drink, Drive and Crash

You need to know the consequences of your decision to drive after drinking. You may not feel that it could happen to you, but you are wrong. Your life could change drastically because of one bad decision.

• Charged with Homicide

A murder charge often follows drunk drivers that kill someone whether in another car or hitting someone walking or biking.

• Loss of License

You don't know how much you depend on your license until you lose it for years. You might have your licensed revoked if the police catch you when your BAL is .08 percent or higher. Losing your license could also mean losing your job, and this could result in many other issues.

How to Prevent Drunk Driving

Consider the following tips before you head out with friends for a night of cocktails.

• Before drinking, decide who will be the designated driver.
• Bring money to pay for a taxi ride home.
• If you had more to drink than you thought you would, call a friend or family member to come and pick you up.
• Offer to drive someone else that has been drinking too much if you're sober.
• Give someone your car keys if you don't trust yourself to contact someone.

How Much Can You Drink?

It can be tricky to know how much you can drink and still be able to drive. Your BAL depends on your body type, amount of alcohol consumed, rate of consumption and how often you drink alcohol. Use this blood alcohol calculator for an estimate of how much you can drink and still be well below the .08 percent legal limit.