1993 Pontiac Grand Am Owner's Manual - Page 128

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 takes away three things that anyone needs t drive a vehicle: o Judgment Muscular Coordination Vision Police records show that half all of motor vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol-a driver, a passenger or someone else, such as a pedestrian, had been drinking. In most cases, these deaths are the result someone who of was drinking and driving. Over 25,000 motor vehicle-related deaths occur each year becauseof alcohol, and thousands of people are injured. person plans to drive? Ideally, no one should drink alcohol and then drive. But if one does, then what's "too much" can be a lot less than many might think. Although it dependson each person and situation, here is some general information on the problem. The Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of someone whois drinking depends upon four things: How much alcohol is in the drink. The drinker's body weight. The amountof food that is consumed before and during drinking. The length of time it has taken the drinker to consume thealcohol. According to the AmericanMedical Association, a 1SO-pund (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 thesame BAC by drinking three 4-ounce(120 ml) glasses of wine or three mixed drinks if each had 1% ounces (45 ml) of a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka. It's the amount of alcohol that counts. For example, if the same person drank three double martinis (3 ounces or 90 ml of liquor each) withinan hour, the person's BAC would be close to 0 1 percent. A person who consumes .2 food just before or during drinking will have a slightly lowerBAC level. 127