The act of drinking and driving is a slippery slope that many young people, especially teenagers, fall on. Most people under the influence believe that they are still fully conscious and able to perform everyday activities such as driving: however, impaired driving is one of the leading causes of many injuries and deaths each year.
“Every day, 29 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This is one death every 50 minutes. The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than $44 billion.” CDC said.
The issue of drinking and driving has become an increasingly popular problem. It has become so serious now that getting into a vehicle after consuming any type of alcohol is considered a serious crime. This crime is called DUI (driving under the influence) which involves anyone driving with a blood alcohol content of at least 0.08 percent. Even people who have consumed only a small amount of alcohol are at high risk when they get behind the wheel. They might not even feel any symptoms or signs of being under the influence, but that does not mean that it is any less dangerous.
Young adolescents and teens are at very high risk when it comes to impaired driving. They will consume a decent amount of alcohol and not feel it in them yet and make the irresponsible decision of getting behind the wheel. It normally takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours for alcohol to be absorbed into your main bloodstream: however, during this your breathing can be slowed down and cognitive skills are no longer as sharp and clear. Because your cognitive skills are not sharp and much of the time delayed, it is always unsafe and dangerous to get in the car after drinking.
Dangers of Drinking and Driving
It is very important that people understand the dangers of drinking and driving. Any amount of alcohol in your bloodstream will affect your ability to drive. Driving requires concentration and awareness of surroundings. Alcohol hinders these abilities and causes less stability when driving. There are several ways in which alcohol impairs your driving ability.
- Reduction of Concentration: When driving, you need be focused on the road, whether it is your speed, staying your lane, or turn signals. This requires attention and focus. No matter the amount of alcohol, it can influence your concentration and decrease your attention span which increases the chance of a car accident.
- Hinder Judgement: Your brain controls how you judge things and when driving a vehicle, judgement plays a huge role. You need your judgement to foresee any potential obstacles in the road and make clear decisions. When your judgement is no longer clear, your awareness and alertness on the road dramatically decreases and becomes blurry.
- Slow Reaction Time: When there is alcohol in your system, it slows down your thinking and how fast you respond to different situations. For example, if a car suddenly brakes in front of you or if a pedestrian were to be crossing the street, it takes your brain longer to process things which leads to slower reaction rate and higher chance of accidents.
These are only some of many dangers that alcohol has on people’s driving abilities. It is important that people are aware of how dangerous and harmful getting behind the wheel when intoxicated is. This way, annual deaths from drunk driving can start to decrease. So the next time you decide to consume alcohol, make sure that your keys are stored in somewhere safe so that you don’t commit a serious crime and cause any harm to yourself or others around you.
A Better Future 