Drinking and Driving

BAC• All states have set the legal BAC limit for

adults who drive after drinking at 0.08, but impairment of driving skills begins at much lower levels.

• Certain driving skills such as steering a car while responding traffic stimuli, can be compromised at a BAC as low as 0.02.

• And the more alcohol you consume, the more impaired your driving skills will be.

Why do some people choose to drink and drive?

Alcohol-induced loss of judgment: alcohol affects your decision making.

Lack of planning: not having a designated driver, not knowing beforehand how you will handle the transportation. Not planning to be drinking. In the moment thinking.

Peer pressure: this is a factor especially for teenagers.

Rationalization: “I live 5 minutes away”, “It’s not the first time”. drunk drivers find excuses to justify their driving;

Over-confidence: drinking changes the perception about our abilities, people believe they can do things better than when sober. In reality, they do them much worse.

Lack of education: there are a lot of people who simply are unaware of the serious consequences.

Teenagers and drinking & driving

• Alcohol is the most used drug among teenagers all around the world.

• 60 percent of all teen deaths in car accidents are alcohol-related;

• 4000 teenagers are killed every year • Another 85,000 teenagers are injured, by

driving drunk, as passengers or as innocent bystanders;

• Teens are more likely than older drivers to speed, run red lights, make illegal turns, ride with a drunk driver, and drive after using alcohol or drugs.

Consequences of Drinking and Driving

• jail time • court costs • loss of job/loss of income • attorneys fees • increased insurance rates • car impound and towing fees • loss of driving privileges • cost of drivers education classes • cost and inconvenience of ignition interlock

device installed on car • community service time • and the worst consequence of drunk driving

is injuring or killing someone else or yourself.

WHAT IS DISTRACTED DRIVING?

• Distracted driving is any activity that could divert a person's attention away from the primary task of driving.

• All distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety. These types of distractions include:– Texting – Using a cell phone or smartphone – Eating and drinking – Talking to passengers – Grooming – Reading, including maps – Using a navigation system – Watching a video – Adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player

– because text messaging requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver, it is by far the most alarming distraction.

Distracted Driving | Faces of Distracted Driving | Texting and Driving• Teen drivers are more likely than other age

groups to be involved in a fatal crash where distraction is reported. In 2009, 16% of teen drivers involved in a fatal crash were reported to have been distracted. (NHTSA)

• 40% of all American teens say they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger. (Pew)

• Drivers who use hand-held devices are 4 times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (Monash University)

• Text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted. (VTTI)

• Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind. (VTTI)

• Headset cell phone use is not substantially safer than hand-held use. (VTTI)

• Using a cell phone while driving - whether it's hand-held or hands-free delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. (University of Utah)

• Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37%. (Carnegie Mellon)

• Take the Pledge

• The fight to end distracted driving starts with you. Make the commitment to drive phone-free today.

• Distracted driving kills and injures thousands of people each year. I pledge to:

– Protect lives by never texting or talking on the phone while driving.• Be a good passenger and speak out if the driver in my car is distracted.

– Encourage my friends and family to drive phone-free.

• SIGNATURE: _____________________________________________________________

• DATE: ___________________________________________________________________