1998 Oldsmobile Aurora Owner's Manual - Page 181

Drunken Driving Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is a national tragedy. It's the number one contributorto the highway death toll, claiming thousandsof victims every year. Alcohol affects four thingsthat anyone needs to drive a vehicle: 0 0 0 0 The obvious way to solve this highway safety problem is forpeople never to drink alcohol and then drive. But what if people do? How much is "too much'' if the driver plans to drive? It's a lot less than many might think. Although it depends on each person and situation here is some general information on theproblem. The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of someone who is drinking depends upon four things: 0 0 0 Judgment Muscular Coordination 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 hastaken the drinker to consume the alcohol. Police recordsshow that almost half of all motor vehicle-related deaths involve akohol. In most cases, these deaths are the result of someone who was drinking and driving. In recent years, over 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 never to drink alcohol, so they never drive after drinking. persons under For 2 1, it's against the law in every U.S. state to drink alcohol. Thereare good medical, psychologicaland developmental reasons for these laws. 0 According to the American Medical Association, a 180-lb. (82 kg) person who drinks three 12-ounce (355 ml) bottles of beer in an hour will end up with a BAC of about 0.06 percent. The person would reach the same BAC by drinking three4-ounce (120 ml) glasses of wine or threemixed drinks if each had 1 - 1/2 ounces (45 ml) of a liquor likewhiskey, gin or vodka.