How Alcohol Affects Your Mind and Body

Alcohol has extremely negative impacts on the brain, which is why drinking and driving, simply do not go hand in hand. By consuming alcohol and driving, drivers are putting themselves, passengers and other motorists at great risks. Every year thousands of deaths are caused by drivers with high levels of Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) yet individuals continue to get behind the wheel after drinking alcohol.  2011 statistics show that 32% of automobile related deaths involve alcohol.  Specifically, approximately one in every three deaths was alcohol related.

HOW ALCOHOL AFFECTS DRIVING

Alcohol is a depressant drug, meaning it reduces the activity of the central nervous system, which includes the brain. Brain function is slowed down considerably and most easy tasks become difficult. Because signals from the brain to muscles deteriorate after alcohol consumption, the user experiences a loss of motor skills, and the impairment vision, judgment, confidence and emotions.

AFFECTS

There does not need to be a high level of BAC for driving skills to be affected. Alcohol affects your driving skills by:

Reducing reaction time - During the time alcohol is present in driver's system, the central nervous system slows down, processes slowly and reaction time is greatly reduced. Having a slow reaction time is the difference between braking in a crucial moment and crashing.

Difficulty multitasking - Drivers are unable to concentrate on several things at once, such as looking in the mirror to make a lane change while keeping in the current lane they are in.  They also tend to ignore their peripheral vision as they focus intensely on the road in front of them.  This causes the driver to ignore how other cars on the road are driving, or what is happening in other lanes.

Drowsiness – Alcohol consumption contributes to feeling drowsy and relaxed at the wheel.  Drivers under the influence often fall asleep and veer off the road or crash.

Impaired vision – Alcohol narrows the field of vision.  Drunk drivers have an increased chance of being susceptible to glare and have more difficulty picking out and differentiating colors. 

Over confidence - After drinking, false feelings of confidence are created. This makes the person take risks that they normally wouldn't while driving.  Examples of this are driving too fast or quickly changing from one lane to the next without warning to other drivers.

Disobeying rules - Most rules and responsibilities as a driver are forgotten while having alcohol in the system. Drivers may forget to use indicator, turn where they are not supposed to, and ignore speed limits.

There are many different ways of approaching the problem of drunk driving. The most common is to limit drinking or abstain from driving at all while having alcohol in the system.  If the individual must drink, then choosing a designated driver who does not drink any alcohol during the course of the evening is highly suggested.

If you have been convicted of a DUI, the court will mandate an alcohol and drug awareness class.  This is generally combined with community service work, paying a great deal in fines, and sometimes the suspension of your license.  Check with your court system to see if you can take these classes online.  With court approval, you will find online classes extremely convenient as they can be taken from any Internet based computer in your home, office, of local coffee house.  A quality course will include all the same information that is taught in a traditional classroom, but will be available to you any time of the day or night with the simple click of a button.