Introduction
Driving after drinking alcohol is dangerous. It can give drivers a false sense of confidence but will also impair them in many ways by affecting the central nervous system.
The impairment effects of drinking alcohol are that
• it will slow a drivers reaction times,
• it reduces a drivers co-ordination,
• a driver will lose their ability to judge speed, time, and distance, and
• the concentration on driving will be reduced.
All of these effects will greatly reduce a drivers safety and put them and others in serious danger.
The Law
It is illegal to drive a motor vehicle on a public road with more than either:
• 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, or
• 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.
In realistic terms, it is impossible to judge whether you are above or below the limit, and so the best advice will always be to have none for the road.
The Police can breath test any driver who if to test any driver who:
• they have reasonable cause to suspect has been driving or attempting to drive with alcohol in his body,
• has committed a moving traffic offence, or
• has been involved in an accident.
Facts and Statistics about Drink Driving
Sadly, one person in every six people killed on the roads, still dies in an accident where at least one driver or rider was above the drink drive limit. It is not always the driver themselves, drink-driving puts everyone at risk.
The trend was that the number of people killed in drink-driving accidents was reducing until 1999. Since 2000 the number of deaths caused by alcohol has been rising.
These fatality figures will also include a number of fatalities caused the morning after a driver has had alcohol. It takes time for alcohol to work through the system, and it can still cause impairment the morning after, even if you do not realise it's effects.
Other Impairments
Whilst drink driving is the most recognised form of driver impairment, driving after taking illegal drugs is also just as dangerous. It is clearly not safe to drive after taking drugs, as they will effect a drivers behaviour, perception, and ability to control a vehicle safely.
Some medicines will also impair a driver and you should always read the warning labels. If a medicine which you have bought says 'may cause drowsiness', then you should assume that it does.
The Simulator and Drink Driving
Alcohol will increase the time it takes drivers to process information – which effectively increases thinking and stopping distances. A drunk driver who spots a pedestrian would take extra vital moments before applying the brake.
This is shown by a large increase in the thinking distance, in the real world a drunk driver may also not press the brake as hard as a sober driver, but this has not been factored into the simulator.
Of course, the extra time it takes a driver to press the brake, will mean that the vehicle is travelling at a faster speed when it hits the pedestrian, causing a more severe injury.
