Drinking Kills Driving Skills: A Halloween safety message from the Green Bay Police Department
Drinking kills driving skills
FACT: An estimated 32% of all fatal car crashes involve an intoxicated driver or pedestrian. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Halloween is a statistically more dangerous night for drunk driving. In 2012, almost half (48%) of all crash fatalities that night involved a drunk driver.
Drinking alcohol and driving simply do not go together. The human brain has to deal with many things and process countless data all the time. Alcohol affects attentiveness and one’s ability to make quick decisions on the road, react to changes in the environment and execute specific, often difficult maneuvers behind the wheel. When drinking alcohol, driving becomes dangerous – and is potentially lethal!
How Does Alcohol Affect the Driver?
BAC of 0.02: As the person reaches .02 they begin to experience some loss of judgment, relaxation and altered mood which results in a decline in visual functions and ability to perform two tasks at the same time.
BAC of 0.05: Psychomotor performance is significantly impaired; slower eye movements occur; visual perception, reaction time and information processing are adversely affected resulting in reduced coordination, reduced ability to track moving objects, difficulty steering and reduced response to emergency driving situations
BAC of 0.08: Muscle coordination is poor (e.g., balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing), it is harder to detect danger and judgment, self-control, reasoning, and memory are impaired resulting in reduced concentration, short-term memory loss, loss of speed control, reduced information processing capability (e.g., signal detection, visual search) and impaired perception.
Halloween is quickly approaching. For many people means celebrating with alcohol. As you get ready to celebrate, keep in mind that one of the best choices you can make is to drive sober or designate a sober driver to get you home safely. Remember, Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving!
Here are some tips to keep you safe this Halloween:
• Before the Halloween festivities begin, plan a way to safely get home at the end of the night.
• Always designate a sober driver.
• If you are drunk, take a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation.
• Walking impaired can be just as dangerous as drunk driving. Designate a sober friend to walk you home.
• If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact local law enforcement.
• If you know someone who is about to drive or ride impaired, take their keys and help them make safe travel arrangements to where they are going.
The Green Bay Police Department takes impaired driving seriously. This weekend we will be fielding extra patrols to detect and arrest those who have made the wrong choice by driving impaired. Please do your part and Drive sober or get pulled over!
Address/Location
Green Bay Police Department
307 South Adams Street
Green Bay, WI 54301
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 920-448-3200