Drinking and Driving
DRINKING AND DRIVING: A THREAT TO EVERYONE
U.S. drivers got behind the wheel after drinking too much about 112 million times in 2010.
Whenever anyone drives drunk, they put everyone on the road in danger. Choose not to drink and drive and help others do the same.
Though episodes of drinking and driving have gone down by 30% during the past 5 years, it remains a serious problem. Alcohol-impaired drivers are involved in about 1 in 3 crash deaths, resulting in nearly 11,000 deaths in 2009.
Certain groups are more likely to drink and drive than others.
- Men were responsible for 4 in 5 episodes (81%) of drinking and driving in 2010.
- Young men ages 21-34 made up only 11% of the U.S. population in 2010, yet were responsible for 32% of all instances of drinking and driving.
- 85% of drinking and driving episodes were reported by people who also reported binge drinking. Binge drinking means 5 or more drinks for men or 4 or more drinks for women during a short period of time.
Some likely alcohol effects on driving
Adapted from The ABCs of BAC, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2005, and How to Control Your Drinking, WR Miller and RF Munoz, University of New Mexico, 1982.
Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)* | Typical Effects | Predictable Effects on Driving |
.02% | Some loss of judgment Relaxation Slight body warmth Altered mood | Decline in visual functions (rapid tracking of a moving target) Decline in ability to perform two tasks at the same time (divided attention) |
.05% | Exaggerated behavior May have loss of small-muscle control (e.g., focusing your eyes) Impaired judgment Usually good feeling Lowered alertness Release of inhibition | Reduced coordination Reduced ability to track moving objects Difficulty steering Reduced response to emergency driving situations |
.08% | Muscle coordination becomes poor (e.g., balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing) Harder to detect danger Judgment, self-control, reasoning, and memory are impaired | Concentration Short-term memory loss Speed control Reduced information processing capability (e.g., signal detection, visual search) Impaired perception |
.10% | Clear deterioration of reaction time and control Slurred speech, poor coordination, and slowed thinking | Reduced ability to maintain lane position and brake appropriately |
.15% | Far less muscle control than normal Vomiting may occur (unless this level is reached slowly or a person has developed a tolerance for alcohol) Major loss of balance | Substantial impairment in vehicle control, attention to driving task, and in necessary visual and auditory information processing |
*Information in this table shows the BAC level at which the effect usually is first observed, and has been gathered from a variety of sources including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the American Medical Association, the National Commission Against Drunk Driving, and webMD. | ||
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