1996 Pontiac Sunfire Owner's Manual - Page 151

Drunken Driving ,jli , '. A . . ' I ..:. Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is a national tragedy. It's the number one contributor to the'highwaydeath toll, claiming thousands of victims every spear. Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive a vehicle: 0 The obvious way to solve this highway safety problem is forpeople never to drink alcoholand then drive. But what if people do? How much is "toomuch" 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 surne genemi inlimnation m the p bm mi . Judgment Muscular Coordination Vision The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of someone who is drinking depends upon four things: 0 The mount of alcohol consumed 0 0 The drinker's body weight Attentiveness. Police records show that almost half of all motor vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases, these deaths are the result of someone who was drinking and driving. In recent years, some 18,000 annual motor vehicle-related deaths have been associated with the use of alcohol, with morethan 300,000 people injured. Many adults -- by some estimates, nearly half the adult population -- choose never to drink alcohol, so they W V e T &ve a€xer&inking. F a pt3YXms u&.r 2 1, ilk against the law in every U.S. state t drink ak&ol. o There are good medical, psychological and developmental reasons for these laws. The amount of food that is consumed before and during drinking The length oftime it has taken the drinker to consume the alcohol. According to theAmerican Medical Association, a 180-lb. (82 kg) person who d r i n k s 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 ml) same BAC by drinking three 4-ounce (120 glasses of wine or three mixed drinks if each had 1- 1/2 ounces (45 ml) of a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka. 4-2