|
December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Month
The holiday season is in full swing. With the holidays
come more social gatherings with co-workers, friends and family. Unfortunately,
the increase in holiday celebrations also results in an increase in alcohol
related crashes and fatalities. Don't let the spirit of the holiday season
be destroyed by tragedy.
Get the Facts
- An alcohol-related fatality occurs every 31 minutes
- An alcohol-related non-fatal injury occurs every two minutes
- Recent studies show that almost 1/3 of Americans will be involved
in an alcohol-related motor vehicle crash sometime in their lives
- Impaired driving is the leading cause of death for people under the
age of 30
How much is too much?
The rate of alcohol absorption will vary from person
to person depending on their height, weight, gender, experience with alcohol,
food consumed prior to alcohol consumption and other environmental and
physical factors. Because of this, it is hard to determine when you have
had too much to drink. Studies show that even one drink decreases the
ability to react quickly, a fact that can prove fatal when an impaired
individual gets behind the wheel of an automobile. It is a good idea to
assign a designated driver or use alternate modes of transportation when
even a minimal amount of alcohol is going to be consumed.
What is Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)?
Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) is the amount of alcohol
present in the blood system. BAC begins when an individual consumes even
a minimal amount of alcohol and increases exponentially with each drink
consumed. BAC does not distinguish between "hard" liquor, wine
or beer; any alcohol consumed will increase BAC level.
The legal limit for BAC in Texas is 0.08%.
What can you do about impaired driving?
The National Commission Against Drunk Driving (NCADD)
offers the following suggestions to help fight impaired driving:
- Your best defense against a drunk driver is to wear your safety belt
and be sure children are properly secured in child safety seats.
- Be a responsible host. Serve food and have non-alcoholic drinks available.
Don't let you guests drive after drinking alcohol and never serve alcohol
to someone under the age of 21.
- Never ride in a car with someone who has been drinking - call a cab
or ask a friend to drive you home.
- Keep a safe distance from anyone driving erratically. Report drunk
drivers to area law enforcement with the license plate number, description
of the vehicle, and the direction in which it was traveling.
Hosting a Holiday Party
If you are going to be hosting a holiday party, follow these tips from
the National Commission Against Drunk Driving (NCADD) to ensure that your
guests get home safely.
- Collect car keys when guests arrive. That way, when they are ready
to leave, they must get a second opinion on whether they're sober enough
to drive home.
- Always serve food with alcohol. High protein and carbohydrate foods
like are especially good. They stay in the stomach much longer, which
slows the rate at which the body absorbs alcohol.
- Have several jiggers or self-measuring one-ounce bottle spouts at
the bar to mix drinks. Guests are less likely to drink excessively when
standard measures are used.
- If you serve alcoholic punch, use a non-carbonated base such as fruit
juice. The body absorbs alcohol faster when mixed with carbonation.
- Serve non-alcoholic beverages and "mocktails". It is possible
that some of your guests will not want to drink alcohol.
- Do not force drinks on your guests or rush to refill their glasses
when empty. Some guests may not wish to appear rude and will accept
drinks they did not want.
- Stop serving alcohol about 2 hours before the party is over. Guests
then have time for their bodies to absorb the alcohol consumed.
- If you observe a guest drinking too much:
- Engage him/her in conversation to slow down drinking
- Offer high protein food
- Offer to make the next drink, using less alcohol and mixing it
with a non-carbonated base.
- If one of your guests is unable to drive, don't allow them to get
behind the wheel.
- Suggest that you or a sober friend drive them home
- Suggest that they stay overnight in your home
- Get them a taxi and pay for the ride yourself. It's hard to object
to a free ride.
|
