Drinking and Driving…
DON’T MIX!
Lesson Objectives
o What influences you?
- Public Service Announcements
Lesson Objectives
o The Facts and the Stats
- BAC
- Mental and Physical Affects of
Alcohol
- Laws
Lesson Objectives
o What would you do???
- If placed in a situation where you had
to make a decision about driving after
drinking (whether it be yourself or a
friend), what would you do???
KWL
o What do you know about Alcohol/Drugs
in relation to driving?
Alcohol/Drugs
Drivers Ed Manuals (101-107)
o What did we learn?
Alcohol’s Effect on One’s
Health and One’s Future
• Sometimes people treat you as an adult and
at other times as a child.
• Learning to cope with this partial
independence is a natural stage of growing
up.
• It is the time when you are very vulnerable
to peer pressure.
• Understanding how alcohol can destroy your
hopes, dreams, and ambitions can help you
resist destructive peer pressure.
What are the Effects of
Alcohol?
• Alcohol is a powerful and dangerous
drug – it can change the way people act,
think, and feel.
• The high number of traffic fatalities
involving young people is the reason why
every state has passed laws to make it
illegal for people under 21 to buy,
possess, or consume alcohol.
Your Responsibilities Regarding Drinking
• Protect yourself from the threat that
drinking poses to your health and wellbeing.
• Protect yourself and others from the
risk posed by people who drink and
drive.
• Don’t let friends “Drink and Drive”.
• A person with a drinking problem often
denies the problem, drinks alone, has
trouble sleeping, and may suffer from
memory loss or blackouts.
• Other symptoms can be seen in health
problems such as (Liver failure, heart
disease, cancer, brain damage, and
malnutrition).
• Alcoholism is a DISEASE. It’s
consequences are devastating, and include
loss of friends and family, self-esteem, and
even loss of life.
How Does Alcohol Affect
Driving Ability?
• Alcohol will decrease your skill and will
damage you judgment no matter how good of a
driver you are.
• From the moment alcohol enters your
bloodstream, you begin to loose your ability to
think clearly.
– Even a small amount of alcohol, one drink,
causes changes in your coordination.
Facts About Alcohol and Driving
Facts About Alcohol and Driving
Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)
• Even one drink of alcohol causes changes in
the body. Alcohol is not digested, as food is.
Rather, it’s absorbed into the bloodstream
through walls of the stomach and small
intestine. It is than carried to all parts of
the body. Alcohol has the greatest effect on
the brain because that is the organ that
controls all body functions.
Are They The Same?
• Beer
• Whiskey
• Wine
• Cooler
• Margarita
Elimination Rate
BAC STOPS DRINKING @ 12:30 am
.20
.16 = PEAK @ 1:00
.15
INTOXICATED LEGALLY (.08)
@ 6:00 am
.10
.05
IMPAIRED (.05)
@ 9:30 am
.00
9 10
HRS 1
11
2
12
3
1
4
ABSORPTION
2
5
3
6
4
7
5
8
6 7
9 10
8
11
9 10
12 13
ELIMINATION
11 12 1
14 15 16
Facts About Alcohol and Driving
M.A.D.D.
• In 2006, an estimated 15,827 people died in alcoholrelated traffic crashes—an average of one every 33
minutes.
• These deaths constitute 37 percent of the 42,532
total traffic fatalities.
• Of these, 13,470 involved a driver with an illegal BAC
(.08 or greater).
• On average someone is killed by a drunk driver every
39 minutes.
• About three in every ten Americans will be involved in
an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives.
Facts About Alcohol and Driving
• By ages 19 and 20, 70 percent of all drinkers engage
in heavy drinking, suggesting that the majority of
young people are at great risk of making poor
decisions that have significant long-term
consequences.
• About 91 percent of all drinks consumed by teenagers
are consumed by those who drink heavily.
• Forty percent of deaths for persons aged 15 to 20
stem from automobile collisions according to the CDC.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
notes twenty-three percent of teenage drivers in
fatal car wrecks possessed a blood-alcohol level above
the legal limit of .08.
Myths and Facts About Alcohol
Myth – Beer is not as intoxicating as hard liquor.
Fact – False. A 12 oz beer, 5oz glass of wine, & 1½
ounce shot of 80 proof liquor = same amount of
alcohol.
Myth – You can’t get drunk on a full stomach.
Fact – Alcohol is just absorbed in the bloodstream
more slowly now. All of the alcohol will still get
into the bloodstream and travel to the brain and
other parts of your body.
Myths and Facts About Alcohol
Myth – You must drink because friends want you to
even though you are the driver.
Fact – Real friends wouldn’t want you to hurt
yourself or others.
Myth – Coffee, cold shower, and a lot of exercise
can sober you up.
Fact – No way! The body can’t burn up much more
than ½ ounce of alcohol in one hour. Only Time
can sober you up.
Myths and Facts About Alcohol
Myth – Alcohol makes you feel better when your
down in the dumps.
Fact – Not Really. Alcohol is a DEPRESSANT, or
“Downer”. It may make a person feel worse than
before.
Myth – Sometimes, cause of peer pressure at a
party, there in no other choice but drink.
Fact – You do have a choice. Don’t Drink. Think of
all the dangers and driving statistics related to
your age group.
The Physical Effects of Alcohol
• Drinking Drivers 16-19 years old have a
higher fatal crash probability than any
other age group
• People who have little or no driving
experience have a higher risk of being
involved in a fatal crash.
Affects Persons Differently
Tolerance
Personality
Mood
Experience
Fatigue
Medication
Weight
Age
The Physical Effects of Alcohol
1.)Reaction Time: After 2 or more drinks a
driver becomes physically slower and less
alert. In fact, for some people, it may only
take one drink.
2.)Coordination: Movements get sloppy and
uncoordinated. Drivers who have been
drinking are less able than others to make
critical decisions. (Trouble steering, miss
brake pedal, or step on it too late)
The Physical Effects of Alcohol
3.)Distance (Depth Perception): Alcohol
affects the ability to judge distance, or
depth. Drinking drivers may perceive
something as farther away than it really is.
4.)Speed Perception: Drinking drivers can’t
tell how fast another vehicle is
approaching. Such drivers have a distorted
sense of how fast they are going.
The Physical Effects of Alcohol
5.)Vision: Alcohol affects the reflex action
of the eyes that causes the pupils to
become smaller in bright light and larger as
light diminishes. Similar to night blindness,
drinkers’ pupils don’t return to normal size
quickly enough once headlights have passed.
Alcohol impairs side, color, and night vision,
eye focus, and it may lead to double vision.
Mental Effects of Alcohol
• Alcohol also affects the part of the
brain that controls the ability to reason.
• Alcohol affects your judgment and can
make you feel as is you are thinking
more clearly than usual.
– This can affect drunk drivers because they
don’t have the judgment to realize
something is wrong.
Mental Effects of Alcohol
• Alcohol affects your inhibitions, the
elements of your personality that stop
you from behaving without regard to
possible consequences.
– In drivers, the loss of inhibition can be
very dangerous and can cause them to take
chances they would normally avoid.
Laws, Tests
and
Penalties
for Drinking and Driving
Implied Consent Law
• If you are arrested for drinking and
driving, you must comply/agree to take a
test to determine BAC (Blood Alcohol
Concentration).
• This is a law in all 50 states.
• If you refuse, the penalty is equivalent
to driving with a BAC of 0.10% or higher
Zero Tolerance Law
• Teenage drivers with any BAC over 0.01
violate the 21-year-old minimum drinking
age laws.
Tests for Intoxication
• Chemical analysis of blood or urine
• Breath-Test to determine the
percentage of alcohol in the breath.
• Field Sobriety Test
1.Standing on one leg
2.Walking in a straight line
3. HGN Reflex
Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus
• HGN refers to a lateral or horizontal
jerking when the eye gazes to the
side.
• In impaired driving context, alcohol
consumption hinders the ability of the
brain to correctly control eye muscles,
therefore causing the jerk or bounce
associated with HGN.
Penalties and Consequences
21 years of age/BAC .08-.10
• License Suspension
• $250 to $400 fine
• 12 to 48 hours in an Intoxicated Driver
Resource Center (IDRC) - $75/day
• Possibly up to 30 days imprisonment
• $100 Drunk Driving Fund Fee
• $100 Alcohol Education, Rehabilitation, and
Enforcement Fund Fee
• $1,000 annual surcharge for 3 years
• $75 Safe Neighborhood Services Fund Fee
Penalties and Consequences
under 21 years of age/BAC > .01
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
License Suspension
$300 to $500 fine
12 to 48 hours in an IDRC - $75/day
Possibly up to 30 days imprisonment
$100 DD Fund Fee
$100 AERE Fund Fee
$1,000 annual surcharge
$75 Safe Neighborhood Services Fund
How Other Drugs
Affect Driving Ability
Alcohol is not the only drug that can impair your ability
to drive.
– Almost any drug can have an effect on your driving
skill.
– Drugs side effects differ (ability to make sound
decisions, change the way you think)
Synergism: The interaction of one drug with another to
enhance the effect of one or both.
(i.e. If a person drinks alcohol and takes a depressant,
the combo could produce an effect on the person
greater than the individual effects of either drug)
What drugs affect driving
ability?
Over the-Counter Drugs:
• Can be purchased legally w/out doctors prescription.
• Used for colds, flu, headaches, allergies, etc.
• Read the labels of these products for “Warnings”.
• It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY as a driver to know what
side effects may result from these medications.
Prescription Drugs:
• Remember to ask your doctor if you can drive safely
while you are taking any prescription medication.
• Look at your medication for Warning on Bottle.
What drugs affect driving
ability?
Depressants:
• Slow down, or depress the CNS.
• These are used by doctors for patients suffering
from anxiety, high tension, or high blood pressure.
• They slow down a uses mental and physical activity.
• They slow down reflexes and have a harmful effect
on coordination.
– Examples) Alcohol, Methadone, sleeping pills.
What drugs affect driving
ability?
Stimulants:
• Speed up, or stimulate the CNS.
• Some drivers take them to stay away when driving
long distances.
• Can give user false feeling of well-being and make
them feel super alert.
• Often cause drivers to take foolish risks.
• When the effects of stimulants wears off, users can
become very tired quickly.
• Many stimulants are illegal.
– Examples) Amphetamines (Speed), Cocaine.
Marijuana and Driving
Marijuana:
• After alcohol, marijuana is the most often found with
drivers in collisions.
• Marijuana can affect drivers in many ways such as:
–
–
–
–
Loss of Tracking Ability: Ability to maintain a vehicle in a line
Distance Judgment: Following too closely
Vigilance: Not remaining attentive
Divided Attention: Can’t remain focused on driving