Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.; Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness and; judgment can be affected by even a small amount- Page 182

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But the ability to drive is affected well below a 
BAC of 0.10 percent. Research shows that the 
driving skills of many people are impaired at a BAC
approaching 0.05 percent, and that the effects are 
worse at night. All drivers are impaired at BAC levels
above 0.05 percent. Statistics show that the chance 
of being in a collision increases sharply for drivers 
who have a BAC of 0.05 percent or above. A driver 
with a BAC level of 0.06 percent has doubled his 
or her chance of having a collision. At a BAC level 
of 0.10 percent, the chance of this driver having a
collision is 12 times greater; at a level of 0.15 percent,
the chance is 25 times greater!

The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol
in one drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold
showers will speed that up. “I’ll be careful” isn’t the
right answer. What if there’s an emergency, a need to
take sudden action, as when a child darts into the street?
A person with even a moderate BAC might not be able
to react quickly enough to avoid the collision.

There’s something else about drinking and driving that
many people don’t know. Medical research shows that
alcohol in a person’s system can make crash injuries
worse, especially injuries to the brain, spinal cord or
heart. This means that when anyone who has been
drinking 

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 driver or passenger 

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 is in a crash, that

person’s chance of being killed or permanently disabled
is higher than if the person had not been drinking.

CAUTION:

Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness and
judgment can be affected by even a small amount
of alcohol. You can have a serious 

--

 or even 

fatal 

--

 collision if you drive after drinking.

Please don’t drink and drive or ride with a 
driver who has been drinking. Ride home in 
a cab; or if you’re with a group, designate a
driver who will not drink.