Drunk Driving During the Holidays

The U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reports that 40 percent of traffic-related deaths during Christmas and New Year's involve drunk drivers -- a 12 percent increase over the rest of the month of December.

The agency offered the following information on the effects of alcohol to clear up some common misconceptions:

Alcohol acts quickly. Alcohol interferes with people's coordination, driving skills and judgment well before physical signs of drunkenness appear. Continued alcohol consumption can prolong reaction time and can cause people to lose control and become aggressive, making driving safely much more difficult.

Alcohol's effects last. Alcohol continues to enter the bloodstream and affect the brain and body for hours after consumption. Driving late at night compounds the sedative effects of alcohol because people are naturally more tired at night. Driving abilities may continue to be impaired the morning after a night of drinking.

Coffee doesn't help. Caffeine does not help reduce the effects of alcohol on people's coordination or ability to make good decisions. Only time will allow the body to metabolize or break down alcohol and return to normal.

For more information on alcohol and driving, check out these links:

Drugged Driving (National Institute on Drug Abuse)

Impaired Driving: Get the Facts  (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Drunk Driving (Insurance Information Institute, Inc.)

Study about Drinking and Driving

I just read a news release from the University of California, San Diego about a study on drinking and driving. Here are the highlights about the study:

A study led by David Phillips and published in the journal Addiction finds that blood-alcohol levels well below the U.S. legal limit are associated with incapacitating injury and death. “Accidents are 36.6 percent more severe even when alcohol was barely detectable in a driver’s blood...Compared with sober drivers, buzzed drivers are more likely to speed, more likely to be improperly seat-belted and more likely to drive the striking vehicle, all of which are associated with greater severity.”

“We hope that our study might influence not only U.S. legislators, but also foreign legislators, in providing empirical evidence for lowering the legal BAC even more,” Phillips said. “Doing so is very likely to reduce incapacitating injuries and to save lives.”

If you want more information on impaired driving, check out this link:

Impaired Driving (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)