1997 Chevrolet Lumina Owner's Manual - Page 159

Drunken Driving Death and injury associated with drinEclng and driving is a national tragedy. It's the number contributor to one the highway death toll, claiming thousands of victims every year. Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive a vehicle: Judgment Muscular Coordination Vision Attentiveness. Police records show that almost half of all motor vehicle-related deaths involve 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 deathshave been associated with the use of alcohol, withmore 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 21, For it's againstthe law in every U.S. state to drink alcohol. There are good medical, psychological and developmental reasons for these laws. The obvious way to solve this highway safety problem is for people never to drink alcohol and drive. But then what if peopledo? How muchis "too much" ifthe 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 the problem. The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of someone who is drinlung depends upon four things: The amount of alcohol consumed The drinker's body weight The amount of food that is consumed before and during drinking 0 The length of time it has taken the drinker to consume the alcohol. According tothe American Medical Association, a 12-ounce 180-lb. (82 kg) person who drinks three (355 ml) bottlesof beer in an hour will end with a up BAC of about 0.06 percent. The person wouldreach the same BAC by drinking three4-ounce (120 ml) glasses of wine or three mixed drinkseach had 1- 1/2 ounces if (45 ml) of a liquor like whiskey, gin vodka. or 4-3