1993 GMC Suburban Owner's Manual - Page 180

-, . Thelaw in most U.S. statessetsthelegallimitataBACof 0-10 percent. In Canadathelimit is 0.08 percent, and in someothercountriesit'slowerthan that. The BAC willbeover 0.10 percent after three to sixdrinks (in one hour). Ofcourse,aswe'veseen,itdependsonhowmuchalcohol is in the drinks,andhowquicklythepersondrinksthem. Butit'sveryimportant to keep in mindthattheability to drive is affectedwell belowaBAC of 0.10 percent.Researchshowsthatthedrivingskillsofmany BAC approaching 0.05 percent, and thattheeffects peopleareimpairedata areworseatnight.AlldriversareimpairedatBAClevelsabove0.05percent. Statisticsshowthatthechanceofbeing in an accidentincreasessharplyfor driverswhohaveaBAC of 0.05 percent or above. A driverwithaBAC level of 0.06 percent (three beers in onehourfora180-poundor 82 kg person) has doubledhis or herchance of havinganaccident. At a BAC level of 0.10 percent,thechance of thatdriverhavinganaccident is sixtimesgreater;at a level of 0.15 percent, the chancesaretwenty-fivetimesgreater!And,the of thealcohol in onedrink. No amount bodytakesaboutanhourtoriditself of coffeeornumberof cold showerswillspeedthatup. "I'll becareful"isn'ttherightanswer.What if there'sanemergency,a need to take suddenaction,aswhenachilddartsintothestreet? A person with a higherBACmightnotbeable to reactquicklyenoughtoavoidthecollision. There'ssomethingelseaboutdrinkinganddrivingthatmanypeopledon't know. Medicalresearchshowsthatalcohol in aperson'ssystem can make crash injuriesworse.That'sespeciallytrueforbrain,spinal cord and heart injuries.Thatmeansthat if anyonewhohasbeendrinking-driver or passenger-is in a crash,thechanceof being killed or permanentlydisabled is higherthan if thatperson had not been drinking.Andwe'vealreadyseen that thechance of acrashitself is higherfordrinkingdrivers. Drinkingandthendriving is verydangerous.Yourreflexes, perceptions,andjudgment will be affectedbyeven a smallamount ofalcohol.You could have a serious-or evenfatal-accident if you drive after drinking. Please don't drink and drive orridewithadriver who has been drinking.Ridehome in acab; or if you'rewitha group, designate a driver who will not drink. 4-1 2