Facts About
Impaired Driving
What Constitutes Impairment?
Impairment begins with one alcoholic drink – whether
it be "hard" liquor, wine or beer. Once alcohol is consumed, it is
absorbed by an individual’s blood system, and can be measured as Blood
Alcohol Concentration (BAC). Studies show that even one drink
decreases one’s ability to react quickly, a factor that can prove fatal
when an impaired individual gets behind the wheel of an automobile.
How Do I Know When I'm Past My Limit?
While accepted BAC levels vary from state to state,
the rate of absorption in one’s body varies according to an individual’s
height, weight, experience with alcohol and food consumed prior to alcohol
consumption. So it's a good idea to assign a designated driver
and/or plan alternate modes of transportation when even a minimal amount
of alcohol is consumed in any given situation.
What Will Happen To Me If I'm Caught?
If
an individual is found to be impaired while driving, he/she will
experience criminal repercussions. These repercussions can include
fines, the loss of driving privileges, incarceration, higher insurance
rates and a criminal record. Law enforcement officers are cracking down on
impaired drivers, stepping up their policing activities on a regular
basis, and implementing a network of sobriety checkpoints and saturation
patrols throughout the year.
The
question of being caught, however, is a major factor in the impaired
driving problem. The public needs, instead, to ask, what will happen if I
don’t get caught? This answer is much more frightening, and carries
with it much more dire consequences than fines, prosecution or the loss of
one’s license. The destruction impaired drivers inflict upon their
communities is immeasurable. Everyone is affected by the impaired driver’s
irresponsible and malicious behavior, whether it be from higher taxes or
the emotional destruction a family experiences after losing a loved one.
Information above provided by the The National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration.