Alcohol and driving

We’ve spoken a great deal over the past few months about drugs and driving and the new roadside drug testing that is about to be introduced in NSW.

This is a hot political issue but we must not forget that a far greater problem is drink driving. Alcohol is involved in about one-third of all serious motor vehicle accidents.

Alcohol affects all drivers. Alcohol is absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the walls of the stomach and small intestine, and is then quickly distributed to all parts of the body, including the brain.

As alcohol inhibits the brain’s ability to function effectively, it takes longer to receive messages from the eye, processing information becomes more difficult, and instructions to the muscles are delayed.

The result is that alcohol may slow down a person’s reaction time by 10 to 30 percent, it will impair their vision, reduce their ability to judge speed and distance, and reduce their ability to perform two or more tasks at the same time.

Alcohol reduces a person’s ability to see distant objects, to use peripheral vision to perceive what is happening at the roadside, and may reduce night vision by 25 percent. Blurred and double vision may also occur.

Alcohol may also give a person a sense of overconfidence, with the result that they may be prepared to take greater risks, such as speeding. Impaired judgment may also alter a person’s perception of how fit they are to drive. Finally, as alcohol is a depressant drug, it may make a driver sleepy, and affect their sense of balance.

A person who drives after they have had only one drink is still five times more likely to have a motor vehicle accident than a driver who has not drunk any alcohol.

Drink driving legislation is based on blood alcohol concentration (BAC). This is a measure of the amount of alcohol in the blood. A BAC of 0.05 means that in every 100ml of blood there is 0.05gm of alcohol.

In order to stay below 0.05 BAC, male drivers are advised to limit their drinking to no more than two standard drinks in the first hour and no more than one standard drink every hour after that. For women, it’s no more than one standard drink in the first hour and no more than one every hour after that.

These estimates are designed to minimise the risk of exceeding the legal limit to drive. It is important to be aware that these are guidelines, not rules. It is safest not to drink alcohol at all if you plan to drive.

Many people have been charged with drink driving offences believing that they had followed rules. Your BAC depends on many factors and will most probably be different every time you drink, even if you drink the same amount over the same period of time.

Remember: if you do not want any negative consequences, do not use the drug and, no matter how many times you have used a substance, never be blas?/p>