1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Owner's Manual - Page 148

Drunken Driving Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is a national tragedy. It's the number one contributor to the highway death toll, claiming thousands of victims every year. Alcohol affectsfour things that anyone needs to drive a vehicle: 0 0 0 0 The obvious way to solve this highway safety problem is for people never to drink alcohol and then drive. Bu what if people do? How much is "too much" if the driver plans to drive? It'slot a less than many might think. Although it depends on each person and situation, here is some general information on the problem. The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of someone who is drinking depends upon four things: 0 0 Judgment MuscularCoordination Vision Attentiveness. The amount of alcohol consumed The drinker's body weight The amount of food that is consumed before and during drinking The length of time it has taken the drinker to consume the alcohol. 0 Police records show that almost half of all motor vehicle-related deathsinvolve alcohol. In most cases, these deathsare the result of someone who was drinking and driving.In recent years, some 17,000 annual motor vehicle-related deaths have been associated with the use of alcohol, with more than 300,000 people injured. -Many adults -- by some estimates, nearly half the adult population-- choose neverto drink alcohol, so they never drive after drinking. For persons under 1, 2 it's against the law in every U.S. state to drink alcohol. There are good medical, psychological and developmental reasonsfor these laws. According to the American Medical Association, a 180-lb. (82 kg) person who drinks three 12-ounce (355 ml) bottlesof beer in an hour will end up with a BAC of about 0.06 percent. The person would reach the same BAC by drinking three 4-ounce (120 ml) glasses of wine or three mixed drinks if each had 1-1/2 ounces (45 ml) of a liquorlike whiskey, gin orvodka 4-3