1996 Pontiac Grand Prix Owner's Manual - Page 157

Drunken Driving Death andinjury associated,with drinking and driving is a national tragedy. It,s thenumber one contributor to the highway death toll, claiming thous&ds of victims every year. Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive a vehcle: Judgment Muscular Coordination 0 The obvious way to solve this highway safety problem is for people never to drink alcohol then drive.But and what if people do? How much is "too much" if the driver plansto drive? It's a lot l&s than many might think. Although it depends on each .person and situation, here issome general information on the problem. The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC).of someone who is drinking depends upon four things: The amount of alcohol consumed The drinker's body weight 0 Vision Attentiveness. The amount of food that is consumed before and during drinking The length of time it has taken the drinker to consume the-alc'ohol: Police records 'showthat almost half of all motor vehicle-related deaths involvealcohol. In most cases, these deaths arethe result of someone wh-owas drinking and driving. In recent years, some 18,000 annual motor vehicle-related deaths have beenassociated with the use of alcohol; with more than 30i),OOO people injured. __ Many adults -- by some estimates,nearly half the adult population -- 'choosenever to dririk alcohal, so they never drive after drinking. Fot ,persons under 21,. it's against the law in every U.S. state to dfink alcohol. There are good medical, psychological and lopmental reasons for theselaws. 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 three 4-ounce (120 ml) glasses of wine or three mixed drinks if each had. - 1/2 ounces 1 (45 ml) of a liquor likewhiskey, gin or vodka.