[--------------------------------------------------------------------------] ooooo ooooo .oooooo. oooooooooooo HOE E'ZINE RELEASE #656 `888' `888' d8P' `Y8b `888' `8 888 888 888 888 888 "The Effects of Alcohol and Drugs 888ooooo888 888 888 888oooo8 on Driving Ability" 888 888 888 888 888 " by Jubjub 888 888 `88b d88' 888 o 5/22/99 o888o o888o `Y8bood8P' o888ooooood8 [--------------------------------------------------------------------------] Alcohol has a depressing effect on the central nervous system. If taken in large enough quantities it will make one go to sleep and eventually die. This is obviously bad for driving, but long before these things happen the effects will start to affect driving ability. Alcohol makes the pupils respond slower to sudden light. This makes headlights more likely to blind a drunk driver and cause a crash. Alcohol also impairs judgement ("Going 90 isn't that dangerous"), lowers coordination and slows reflexes. All of these abilities are absolutely essential on the road. Another effect alcohol has on driving is that it makes people underestimate how fast they are going. A One oz. shot of 80 proof hard liquor has the same amount of alcohol in it as a 5 oz. glass of wine and a 12 oz. can of beer. This is considered one drink. Only one drink will impair driving ability. Even below the legal limit your risk of having an accident can still be raised by 100%. For each drink you have you must wait one hour before you can drive. Contrary to myth, there is no way to sober yourself up, not even coffee, cold showers or exercise will help. If you have been drinking and doing other drugs it is probably best to wait until you've had a night's sleep to drive. When mixed with other drugs, alcohol can be even more deadly on the road. When mixed with prescription drugs such as benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax), and barbituates (Seconal) the negative effects of alcohol on driving are greatly potentiated. Also the chance of falling asleep at the wheel is very high. This would almost always cause some sort of collision. When mixed with many over the counter drugs (Nyquil, Robitussin, etc) the same things (to a lesser degree) happen. When alcohol is mixed with prescription and illegal uppers (amphetamines) it creates the illusion that the alcohol is not making any negative impact on the users driving. This is not true, and in fact the amphetamines could make decision making skills even worse. When mixed with marijuana the sedating aspects of alcohol are potentiated which leads to a greater risk of falling asleep at the wheel. Hallucinogens mixed with alcohol have all the effects of alcohol plus hallucinations which can easily distract a driver, especially a driver who has all ready been drinking. In Delaware you can be charged with DWI ("driving while intoxicated") if you drive with a BAC (blood alcohol concentration) of .05% or above. It takes about two drinks for the average person to reach this level. At this level the you are almost twice as likely to get into an accident. At .10% you can be charged with DUI ("driving under the influence"). At this level your risk of having an accident is raised by six times. For your first DUI offense you can get three months in prison (a year if you refuse to take a chemical test), a year for the second (eighteen months if you refuse the test), and eighteen months for three or more offenses (two years if you refuse three or more times). You can enroll in a first offender's program which will give you a lighter sentence. Being convicted of DUI will also raise your insurance and make it a lot harder to get a job. Considering all these things is it worth it to drive drunk/on drugs? [--------------------------------------------------------------------------] [ (c) !LA HOE REVOLUCION PRESS! HOE #656 - WRITTEN BY: JUBJUB - 5/22/99 ]