Roadside Chat - Drinking & driving go together like a fork & soup
Macaroni and cheese. Peanut butter and jelly. Hot cocoa and marshmallows. These combinations just work together and for many of us, they make us feel better.
Other combinations are downright dangerous, like drinking and driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 32 people die each day on U.S. highways because an impaired driver chose to get behind the wheel of a vehicle. That’s one person every 45 minutes of every day.
Alcohol changes the way your body processes things. Your ability to think clearly, make reasonable decisions, and move your body are all impacted when you drink alcohol. Even a small amount can affect your driving ability.
From the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
|
BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION (BAC) IN G/DL |
TYPICAL EFFECTS |
|
|
.02 |
Some loss of judgment, relaxation, slight body warmth, altered mood |
A decline in visual functions (rapid tracking of a moving target), a decline in the ability to perform two tasks at the same time (divided attention) |
|
.05 |
Exaggerated behavior, may have a loss of small-muscle control (e.g. focusing your eyes), impaired judgment, usually a good feeling, lowered alertness, the 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 |
|
|
.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 tasks, and necessary visual and auditory information processing |
So far this year in Iowa, 35 people have been killed in traffic crashes. That’s an increase of six since last Friday. In Iowa in 2022, there were 338 traffic-related deaths. To see statistics published daily by the Office of Driver Services, go to the daily fatality report at https://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/stats/daily.pdf