Drinking and driving should not be put together. I take that back. Drinking and driving should NEVER be put together. I'll get to my point right away. If you DRINK AND DRIVE, you put THE LIVES OF YOUR PASSENGERS, THE LIVES OF INNOCENT PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE, and YOUR OWN LIFE IN GREAT DANGER.
Alcohol affects one's attentiveness and reduces an individual's ability to make clear and rapid decisions and his ability to execute proper emergency measures. Alcohol makes you a potential criminal. Alcohol takes away the sand in your life's hourglass, if the preceding words weren't enough to make you realize that DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE of alcohol or drugs is LETHAL!
According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD), the majority of drinking and driving deaths in the US are due to drivers with a
blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of at least 0.08 BAC, the most commonly used definition of intoxication. However, the limit varies by each country's laws. China has a 0.02 limit, Hong Kong 0.05 as well as the Philippines, Canada 0.05-0.08, and Saudi Arabia none because alcohol is banned!
The site of the said council educates readers on how alcohol affects the driver. Apparently, a BAC of 0.02 can make an individual experience a kind of judgment loss and relaxation that impairs his visual functions and his multi-tasking ability. At a 0.05 BAC level, defects in psychomotor performance is obvious, as well as delays on reaction time and information processing. These result to poor coordination, poor visual perception especially of moving objects ahead and poor response to emergency driving situations. At 0.08 BAC, the driver is so impaired, he finds it very difficult to maintain balance and to detect danger due to loss of judgment and good visual search. He also loses self-control and reasoning, thus, resulting to very horrible accidents.
In About.com's article about "alcoholism," a 120-pound woman can reach a BAC level of 0.08 after only two drinks and a 180-pound man after only four drinks. The "drink" pertained to can either be a shot of liquor, a five ounce glass of wine or one beer. All of these contain the same amount of alcohol.
DRINKING WHILE INTOXICATED IS A CRIME.
But despite all efforts of organizations to curb the cases of accidents and deaths due to drunk driving, the problem still persists. If you are a responsible driver, PLEASE do not drink anymore. Stop saying that you can handle any drink because mostly all of who said that also went to a trip at the hospital, some at the morgue. If, well by some reason, you can't resist the temptation of alcohol, PLEASE plan how to get home WITHOUT DRIVING. There are ways to get home a wee bit tipsy without driving. Take a cab and let a sober friend take note of the plate number OR let this sober friend take you home. OR just stay with your companions. These are little but life-changing decisions YOU CAN MAKE.
Here's another piece of advice. FRIENDS DO NOT LET FRIENDS DRINK AND DRIVE. (All caps so it would make sense to you.) If you know that you're friend is driving home, DO NOT let him drink. Somehow, his life and his passengers' depend on that restriction of yours.
Third, refuse taking a vehicle with a drunk driver. You must be sensible enough to know that the driver's concentration is impaired, as well as his visual functions and other bodily stuff. JUST DON'T DO IT. Think of your future and close that door. Approach the driver's seat and yank the driver out of the vehicle (slap him a couple times, he won't remember). You have made yourself and him a very big favor.
If you disregard this article, WHAT A SHAME!! You don't deserve a driver's license, or friends if that's the matter. BOO YOU!
I'm ending my piece with a friendly reminder, "Stay alive. Don't drink and drive." :-)
xoxo
Legal actions towards alcohol-related accidents here:
NCADD fact sheet here:
More of drink driving here:
