ALCOHOL
• On average someone is killed by a drunk driver
every 45 minutes.
• In 2008, an estimated 11,773 people died in
alcohol-impaired traffic crashes.
• Three in every 10 Americans will be involved in an
alcohol-related crash in their lives.
• A first time drunk driving offender on average has
driven drunk 87 times prior to being arrested.
• MULTIPLIER EFFECT IS MIXING ALCOHOL WITH
OTHER DRUGS.
VERY DANGEROUS! ALCOHOL IS A DEPRESSANT!
Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of
death among teenagers in the US and are
responsible for more than one in three deaths of
American teenagers. Of the teen drivers killed
on the road in 2006, 31% had been drinking,
according to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
What is Alcohol
• Alcohol is a depressant.
MULTIPLIER EFFECT IS MIXING ALCOHOL WITH OTHER
DRUGS.
VERY DANGEROUS! ALCOHOL IS A DEPRESSANT!
A depressant slows down the central nervous system.
What does it look like?
• Alcohol is used in liquid form.
How is it used?
• Alcohol is drunk. Types include beer, wine, and liquor.
• Although classified as a depressant, the
amount of alcohol consumed determines the
type of effect. Most people drink for the
stimulant effect, such as a beer or glass of
wine taken to “loosen up.” But if a person
consumes more than the body can handle,
they then experience alcohol’s depressant
effect. They start to feel “stupid” or lose
coordination and control.
Immediate effects of alcohol
• Brain depresses the activity of central nervous system
• Liver oxidation (the breaking down of alcohol into
water, carbon dioxide and energy)
• Blood vessels dilate (widens, feels warmer)
• Heart rate increases
• Blood pressure increases
• Kidneys produce urine (feel dehydrated next day)
• Stomach increase gastric juices, irritates stomach lining
• Dizziness
• Talkativeness
• Significantly impairs the judgment and coordination
required to drive a car safely.
• The disinhibiting effect of alcohol is one of the main reasons it
is used in so many social situations.
• The immediate effects of a larger amount of alcohol include slurred
speech, disturbed sleep, nausea, and vomiting
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Low to moderate doses of alcohol can also increase the
incidence of a variety of aggressive acts, including domestic
violence and child abuse. Hangovers are another possible
effect after large amounts of alcohol are consumed; a
hangover consists of headache, nausea, thirst, dizziness, and
fatigue.
How fast can alcohol effect the body?
• When a person drinks alcohol, the alcohol is absorbed
by the stomach, enters the bloodstream, and goes to
all the tissues. The effects of alcohol are dependent on
a variety of factors:
• person’s size
• weight
• type of drink (carbonated)
• age
• Sex male/female
• amount of food in stomach
• amount of alcohol consumed.
What are its long-term effects?
• Prolonged, heavy use of alcohol can lead to addiction (alcoholism).
Sudden cessation (to stop drinking )of long term, extensive alcohol intake
is likely to produce withdrawal symptoms, including severe anxiety,
tremors, hallucinations and convulsions.
• Tolerance need more of the drug to get the same effect first time
• Dependence body needs the drug
• Long-term effects of consuming large quantities of alcohol, especially
when combined with poor nutrition, can lead to permanent damage to
vital organs such as the brain and liver. Cirrhosis: scarring of the liver.
• Mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy may give birth to infants
with fetal alcohol syndrome. These infants may suffer from mental
retardation and other irreversible physical abnormalities
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Research indicates that children of alcoholic parents are at greater risk
than other children of becoming alcoholics.
If you consume alcoholic beverages, it’s important to know whether
your drinking patterns are safe, risky or harmful.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
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Leading cause of mental handicaps in children.
Impaired speech
Shorter in height
Lighter in weight
Slow body growth
Heart defects
Poor coordination
Cleft palates
• Alcohol overdose causes even more severe
depressant effects (inability to feel pain,
toxicity where the body vomits the poison,
and finally unconsciousness or, worse, coma
or death from severe toxic overdose). These
reactions depend on how much is consumed
and how quickly.
• There are different kinds of alcohol.
Ethyl alcohol (ethanol), the only alcohol used in
beverages, is produced by the fermentation of
grains and fruits. Fermenting is a chemical
process whereby yeast acts upon certain
ingredients in the food, creating alcohol.
• A MODERATE DRINKER does not drink excessively.
Health is not harmed, no inappropriate behavior due to
alcohol.
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• A SOCIAL DRINKER drinks only on social occasions.
Depending on how alcohol affects the persons life the
person could be a moderate or a problem drinker.
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• A BINGE DRINKER drinks 4 or more drinks in a short
period.
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• A PROBLEM DRINKER (alcohol abuser) suffers social,
emotional, family, job related, or other problems. On
the way to alcoholism.
Understanding how alcohol affects the body
• Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream via
small blood vessels in the walls of the stomach
and small intestine. Within minutes of
drinking alcohol, it travels from the stomach
to the brain, where it quickly produces its
effects, slowing the action of nerve cells.
Alcohol is also carried by the bloodstream to the
liver, which eliminates the alcohol from the blood
through a process called “metabolizing,” where it
is converted to a nontoxic substance. The liver
can only metabolize a certain amount at a time,
leaving the excess circulating throughout the
body. Thus the intensity of the effect on the body
is directly related to the amount consumed.
When the amount of alcohol in the blood exceeds
a certain level, the respiratory (breathing) system
slows down markedly, and can cause a coma or
death, because oxygen no longer reaches the
brain.
Alcohol dependence (alcoholism)
consists of four symptoms:
• Craving: a strong need, or compulsion, to drink.
• Loss of control: the inability to limit one’s drinking on
any given occasion.
• Physical dependence: withdrawal symptoms, such as
nausea, sweating, shakiness and anxiety, occur when
alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking.
• Serious dependence can lead to life-threatening
withdrawal symptoms including convulsions, starting
eight to twelve hours after the last drink. The delirium
tremens (D.T.’s) begins three to four days later where
the person becomes extremely agitated, shakes,
hallucinates and loses touch with reality.
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AN ALCOHOL ADDICT (alcoholic) has the full blown
disease of alcoholism. This person’s problems, caused
by alcohol abuse are out of control.
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SIGNS OF AN ALCOHOLIC:
Drinks alone
Family/work affected
Hides alcohol
Drinks in the morning
Blacks out
Promises it is the last drink
Loss of control
What is binge drinking?
• Binge drinking is the practice of consuming
large quantities of alcohol in a single session,
usually defined as five or more drinks at one
time for a man, or four or more drinks at one
time for a woman.
• About 90% of the alcohol consumed by youth
under the age of 21 in the United States is in
the form of binge drinks.
Impaired Driving
Driving while impaired can mean under the
influence of either alcohol or drugs, or
both. Consider these sobering statistics
from MADD
Alcohol and the Teen Brain
• The human brain continues to grow into a
person's early 20s. Drinking alcohol during that
time can damage short and long-term brain
growth and that damage can be permanent.
• Teens are more likely to suffer blackouts,
memory loss, and alcohol poisoning from
drinking, as well as to cause damage to their
ability to remember things in the future.
• All parts of the growing brain are impacted
negatively by alcohol, but the memory function is
especially hard hit.
What impact does that have on me?
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Well, adolescent drinkers perform worse in
school, are more likely to fall behind and have an
increased risk of social problems, depression,
suicidal thoughts and violence.
• Because the brain (specifically, the regulation of
the brain through serotonin, which provides
balance and impulse control) becomes used to
the use of alcohol, people who begin drinking in
their teens are not only at greater risk for
developing alcoholism sometime in their lives,
they are also at greater risk for developing
alcoholism more quickly and at younger ages,
especially chronic, relapsing alcoholism.
WOW!
• About 10.8 million young people aged 12 to 20
(28.3%) reported drinking alcohol in the past
month. Approximately 7.2 million (19%) were
binge drinkers and 2.4 million (6.2%) were heavy
drinkers.
• Alcohol is the number #1 youth drug problem in
America and more young people die from
alcohol-related accidents than from all other illicit
drugs combined.
Why is the legal drinking age 21?
• “When the drinking age was raised, crashes
went down almost 30 percent.
• NHTSA estimates nearly 25,000 teen traffic
deaths have been prevented by age-21 laws.
The percentage of teen drivers killed in traffic
crashes with a BAC above the legal limit has
dropped from 56 percent in 1982 to 23
percent in 2005.
According to MADD
• Since that time, the 21 minimum drinking age law
has saved about 900 lives per year as estimated
by the National Traffic Highway Administration
(NHTSA). In short, there are more than 25,000
people alive today because of the 21 minimum
drinking age law in every state.
• Additionally, underage drinking rates also fell and
continue to fall. From 1991 to the present, use of
alcohol among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders has
dropped 45%, 30%, and 18%, respectively
HISTORY OF THE 21 MINIMUM
DRINKING AGE
• For almost 40 years, most states voluntarily set their
minimum drinking age law at 21. In the late 60s and early
70s, 29 states lowered their drinking age to more closely
align with the newly reduced military enlistment and voting
age.
The results were immediate -- drunk driving crashes and
alcohol-related fatalities increased significantly in those
states.1And not just in those states -- "blood borders",
where young people would drive to a state with a lower
drinking age, drink, and crash on their return, cropped up
across the country. As a result, 16 states had increased
their drinking ages back to age 21 by 1983
Confronted by the failure of the 18 minimum
drinking age, the President Commission on
Drunk Driving recommended establishing a
national 21 minimum drinking age. President
Reagan agreed and on July 17, 1984, he signed
into law the Uniform Drinking Age Act
mandating all states to adopt 21 as the legal
drinking age within five years. By 1988, all
states had set 21 as the minimum drinking
age.
How to Spot a Drunk Driver
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Quick acceleration or deceleration
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Tailgating
Weaving or zig-zagging across the road
Driving anywhere other than on a road designated for vehicles
Almost striking an object, curb, or vehicle
Stopping without cause or erratic braking
Drifting in and out of traffic lanes
Signaling that is inconsistent with driving actions
Slow response to traffic signals (e.g. sudden stop or delayed start)
Straddling the center lane marker
Driving with headlights off at night
Swerving
Driving slower than 10 mph below the speed limit
Turning abruptly or illegally
Driving into opposing traffic on the wrong side of the road
What to do if you see a drunk driver
1. Stay as far away from the other vehicle as possible.
2. Do not try to pass the vehicle or signal the driver to pull
over. Doing so could result in a collision.
3. Take notice of the license plate number of the driver along
with details of the vehicle including make, model and color.
4. Pull over and call 911. Give the exact location of the
vehicle, including the name of the road or cross streets and
the direction the vehicle is traveling. Give a complete
description of the vehicle and the manner in which the
vehicle is being driven.
What is blood alcohol concentration?
• BAC stands for blood/breath alcohol content.
• BAC is the amount of alcohol in the body. It
can be measured by testing blood, breath and
urine.BAC is most commonly measured using
the intoxilyzer test.
• An average drink for a 140-180 lb. person may
raise the BAC .02 grams. For lighter people it
would be higher.
Understanding .08
• Alcohol decreases a person’s ability to drive a
motor vehicle safely. The more you drink, the
greater the effect. The amount of alco¬hol
required to become impaired differs according
to how fast you drink, your weight, your
gender, and how much food you have in your
stomach. Because of these variables, the
safest choice is always not to drink and drive.
.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 can get a DUI
• 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 legally intoxicated DUI
• 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
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• 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 visual and auditory information processing
Don’t think this
can’t happen to you!
or the belief
“……that could never happen to me.”
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100 lb .038 .075 .113 .150 .188
110 lb. .034 .066 .103 .137 .172
120 lb. .031 .063 .094 .125 .156
130 lb. .029 .058 .087 .116 .145
140 lb. .027 .054 .080 .107 .134
150 lb. .025 .050 .075 .100 .125
160 lb. .023 .047 .070 .094 .117
170 lb. .022 .045 .066 .088 .110
180 lb. .021 .042 .063 .083 .104
190 lb. .020 .040 .059 .079 .099
200 lb. .019 .038 .056 .075 .094
210 lb. .018 .036 .053 .071 .090
220 lb. .017 .034 .051 .068 .085
230 lb. .016 .032 .049 .065 .081
240 lb. .016 .031 .047 .063 .078
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7 8
9 10 11 12
.225 .263 .300 .338 .375 .413 .450
.207 .241 .275 .309 .344 .379 .412
.188 .219 .250 .281 .313 .344 .375
.174 .203 .232 .261 .290 .320 .348
.161 .188 .214 .241 .268 .295 .321
.151 .176 .201 .226 .251 .276 .301
.141 .164 .188 .211 .234 .258 .281
.132 .155 .178 .200 .221 .244 .265
.125 .146 .167 .188 .208 .229 .250
.119 .138 .158 .179 .198 .217 .237
.113 .131 .150 .169 .188 .206 .225
.107 .125 .143 .161 .179 .197 .215
.102 .119 .136 .153 .170 .188 .205
.098 .115 .130 .147 .163 .180 .196
.094 .109 .125 .141 .156 .172 .188
How To Calculate Your Estimated
Blood Alcohol Content / BAC
• Use the chart on the next page to determine BAC.
• Count your drinks (1 drink equals 1 ounce of 100proof liquor, one five ounce glass of table wine or
one 12-ounce bottle of regular beer).
• Subtract from this number the percent of alcohol
"burned up" during the time elapsed since your
first drink. This figure is .015% per hour.
(Example: 180 lb. man - 8 drinks in 4 hours /
.167% minus (.015x4) = .107 %
ALCOHOL FACTS
Ethyl alcohol found in alcoholic beverages.
12 ounces of beer = 5 ounces of wine (1 glass) = a 12
ounce wine cooler =1 ounce of 90 proof liquor.
ALL HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL
½ proof = % of alcohol
80 proof means 40 % alcohol
Traffic crashes are the #1 killer in the15-24 year old age
group.
MORE ALCOHOL FACTS
Once a person stops drinking the body eliminates
alcohol at the rate of about .015 grams BAC per
hour.
How does the body get rid of the alcohol?
10% thru urine, breath and sweat
90% oxidized by the liver.
It takes 1 hour per drink
Cirrhosis- scarring of liver, no blood flow
Time is the only way to sober up!
OMG More Facts!
On sight tests: rapid eye movement
touch nose
count/abc’s
walk line and balance
Blood, Breathalyzer and urine
Passing out: the body loses consciousness
Blacking out: can’t remember what happened
the night before.
• Physiological dependence: body develops a
chemical need for the drug . Body builds up
tolerance and goes thru withdrawal with out
the drug.
• Psychological dependence: a person believes
the drug is needed.
• Addiction: physiological and psychological
dependence on a drug
Driving while under the influence of
sleep?
The effects of driving drowsy mimic the effects of driving drunk.
• Reaction time is slowed
• Decreased awareness
• Impaired judgment
• It turns out to be a fact that your body CANNOT predict sleep onset.
Now, we have all experienced that buzz behind the eyes that makes
us say...."I just need to close my eyes for ONE SECOND"....but did
you know that even though you may have every conscious intention
of re-opening your eyes, the body may feel different and onset
sleep at that split second? If you have ever fallen asleep at the
wheel and lived to tell the tale, don't EVER say you are an unlucky
person!
• In the United States, 250,000 drivers fall
asleep at the wheel everyday, according to the
Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical
School and in a national poll by the National
Sleep Foundation, 54% of adult drivers said
they had driven while drowsy during the past
year with 28% saying they had actually fallen
asleep while driving.
• According to the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, drowsy driving is a
factor in more than 100,000 crashes, resulting
in 1,550 deaths and 40,000 injuries annually
my sister
my nephew’s
girlfriend
Memorial Day 2011
my dad
my nephew
Video clip of my sister the day her halo
was screwed into her head.
Front View
Day after halo was in place.
Distracted Driving
• Driver inattention is a leading factor in many
crashes, and cell phone use and texting are
some of the most common driver distractions.
While more and more states and localities are
banning specific distractions, GHSA's message
to all drivers is: don't use cell phones or other
electronic devices while driving, regardless of
the current law.