Message Monday - Driving impaired- the wrong kind of scared
Although there might not be quite as many ghosts and goblins running around your neighborhood this Halloween, there are still plenty of frightening drivers out on the road. Both Iowa and nationwide statistics show at least one-third of all fatal crashes involve an impaired driver.
If you’re drinking, how much is too much? It is difficult to calculate how many drinks it takes until a driver is over the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) limit because there are many factors at play including the following:
- Number of drinks
- How fast you drink
- Your gender
- Your weight
- If you’ve recently consumed food
That being said, even a single drink can affect your driving, motor skills, and reaction time. Here are some facts to consider:
- At BAC 0.02 percent, effects on your driving abilities include:
- Decline in visual functions such as rapid tracking of a moving target.
- Decline in ability to perform two tasks at the same time.
- At BAC 0.04 percent, commercial drivers are considered legally drunk.
- At BAC 0.05 percent, effects on your driving abilities include:
- Reduced coordination.
- Reduced ability to track moving objects.
- Difficulty steering.
- Reduced response to emergency driving situations.
- At BAC 0.08 percent, drivers are considered legally drunk
For 2020, there have been 266 fatalities reported. That is an increase of four since last Monday. To see statistics published daily by the Driver Services Bureau, go to the daily fatality report at https://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/stats/daily.pdf