How Alcohol Really Affects Driving Ability

drunk driving accident attorneys in Illinois

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), roughly 30 people will die each day in the United States from being in a drunk driving accident. This accounts to more than 10,000 lost lives every year, not to mention all the injuries also associated with these accidents. Losses associated with drunk driving accidents cost citizens $44-billion dollars a year.

Alcohol does really affect your ability to drive safely. While you cannot always control the actions of other drivers out on the road, you can control your own actions by being responsible if you choose to drink while celebrating with friends or family or hosting your own gatherings. As part of Alcohol Awareness Month, Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys wants to help you understand how alcohol really affects your driving ability. 

You Cannot Predict How Alcohol Will Affect Your Body

Alcohol can affect everyone in different ways. After all, we all have different blood chemistries, body masses, and tolerance levels. Even a little bit of alcohol in your bloodstream can affect you. So, whether you have had one drink or four, you could be a danger to yourself, your passengers, and everyone else on the road.

Here are a few ways that alcohol affects your driving skills:

Impairs Your Concentration

Your attention span can be reduced even when you have had one drink. Driving always requires your undivided attention for:

  • Traffic signals
  • Drivers around you
  • Changing road conditions
  • Your speed
  • Staying in your lane
  • Pedestrians

Inhibits Your Judgment

Alcohol changes how your brain judges certain circumstances and your ability to remain alert while you drive. In turn, you might not be able to foresee a potential problem and avoid getting into an accident. Further, certain mental illnesses are exacerbated by drinking, which can cause drivers to take unnecessary risks.

Interferes with Your Vision

If you drink an excessive amount of alcohol, your vision will be impaired. For instance, you could be unable to:

  • Focus your eyes if they become blurry
  • Judge the distance between your car and others
  • Use your peripheral vision to see on either side when looking forward

Slows Down Your Reaction Time

Alcohol in your bloodstream will affect your response time. You might not be able to react so quickly if a vehicle in front of you suddenly stops or a child runs out in the street in front of your vehicle.

Interferes with Your Coordination

When you drive, you need to be able to coordinate your eyes, hands, and feet. Alcohol affects your brain’s ability to coordinate your body movements.

Decreases Ability for Tracking

Drinking reduces your ability to drive straight and also remain in your lane. This is because it affects your ability to determine your position on the road.

Impairs Your Ability to Comprehend

Your ability to understand traffic signals or road signs decreases when you have alcohol in your bloodstream. You may misinterpret warning signs or situations that could also cause an accident.

These skills are significantly reduced as your blood alcohol concentration continues to increase. Most drunk driving accidents involve drivers who have a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher.

Drunk Driving Accident Injury Attorneys

Injured in an accident caused by a drunk driver? You do have a right to compensation for your injuries and losses. Your choice for drunk driving accident attorneys is Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys.

We bring experience, skill, and also, passion to your case. Accidents can happen at any time of the day. So, we will take your call at 844-977-1900 or to chat via LiveChat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With free consultations, you risk nothing by contacting us. We also take no fee unless we win your case.

The information on this blog is for general information purposes only. Nothing herein should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.