FACTS
- The largest group at risk for drinking and driving are those who binge drink. This means they consume a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time, putting them at risk for harmful side effects. It takes roughly 30 minutes to two hours for alcohol to be absorbed into your bloodstream.
- Any amount of alcohol in your bloodstream can impact your driving ability. The effects of alcohol abuse vary greatly, putting you at risk for causing an accident or highway injury.
- When alcohol is in your system, it affects how quickly you’re able to respond to different situations. Drinking slows your response time, which can increase the likelihood of an accident.
- Heavy drinking affects your motor skills such as eye, hand and foot coordination. Without crucial coordination skills, you may be unable to avoid an impending harmful situation.
- Alcohol, no matter how much or how little, can influence your concentration. Your attention span is dramatically reduced with drinking, which significantly increases the chance of an accident.
- Your brain controls how you judge certain circumstances. When operating a motorized vehicle, your judgement skills play an important role in how you make decisions. Your judgement helps you stay alert and aware of surrounding conditions while driving.
STATS
- Impairment is not reliant upon the type of alcohol consumed, rather the number of drinks over a certain period of time. Despite myths and misconceptions, coffee, a cold shower, or exercise will not make a person more sober; only time will.
- On average, a drunk driver will drive 80 times under the influence before their first arrest.
- Every 51 minutes in America, someone is killed in a drunk driving crash. That equates to 27 people every day. Offer to be your parents’ designated driver to ensure that everybody gets home safe. Sign up for Parents Ride Shotty.
- For drivers under 21, the U.S. has a No Tolerance policy that does not allow any alcohol to be in the blood system while behind the wheel. The consequences could include expensive fines, loss of license or jail.
- Someone is injured in a drunk driving incident every 120 seconds.
- In 2011, 9,878 people were victims of drunk drivers.
- Between 50 to 75% of the people who have had their licenses revoked due to driving under the influence drive illegally without their license.
- Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for teens, and roughly 1/3 of these accidents involve alcohol or another substance.
- Since the early 1980s, alcohol-related traffic deaths per population have been cut in half with the greatest proportional declines among persons 16-20 years old.
- In 2010, of the fatalities among children ages 14 and younger, 17 percent occurred in alcohol impaired-driving crashes.
- Kids and teens who get involved with alcohol at a young age are 7 times more likely to be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lives.