1998 Oldsmobile Bravada Owner's Manual - Page 155

Drunken Driving Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is a national tragedy. It's the number one contributor to the highway death toll, claiming thousands of victims every year. Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive a vehicle: 0 The obvious way to solve this highway safety problem is for peoplenever to drink alcohol and then drive. But what if people do? How much is "too much" if the driver plans to drive? It's a lot lessthan many might think. Although it depends on each person and situation, here is some general information on the problem. The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of someone who is drinking dependsupon four things: 0 Judgment MuscularCoordination Vision Attentiveness. The amount of alcohol consumed The drinker's body weight The amount of food that is consumed before and during drinking The length of time it has taken the drinker to consume the alcohol. 0 0 Police records show that almost half of all motor vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases, these deaths are the result of someone who was drinking and driving. In recent years, over 17,000 annualmotor vehicle-related deaths have been associatedwith the use of alcohol, with more than 300,000 people injured. Many adults -- by some estimates, nearly half the adult population -- choose never to drink alcohol, so they never drive after drinking. For persons under 2 1, it's against the law in every U S . state to drink alcohol. There are good medical, psychological and developmental reasons for these laws. According to the American Medical Association, a 180-lb. (82 kg) person who drinks three 12-ounce (355 ml) bottles of beer in an hourwill end up with a BAC of about 0.06 percent. Theperson would reach the same BACby drinking three 4-ounce (120 ml) glasses of wine or three mixed drinks if each had 1- 1/2 ounces (45 ml) of a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka. 4-3