How Does Alcohol Affect Your Driving Ability and Judgment?
An individual who has been drinking may consider operating his vehicle because he believes that he is still capable of driving safely. However, alcohol is a kind of depressant drug that affects the central nervous system, especially the brain. This means that alcohol intoxication can affect a person’s view and experience of reality. In fact, they won’t be able to act and respond to things accordingly. Lastly, drunk individuals do not know how much their driving ability has been affected.
A drunk driver will be unable to accurately judge the speeds and distance of other vehicles, and he won’t be able to respond to possible dangers or changes in traffic situations. The ability to multi-task is also reduced. For instance, a drunk driver won’t be able to immediately stop when a pedestrian suddenly crosses the street.
Slow Reaction Time: Drivers should understand that even small amounts of alcohol will affect their body and their driving ability. They might find it hard to immediately react when something unexpected occurs. This is due to the fact that the brain will take longer to receive and process messages from other parts of the body. The process of digesting information becomes much more difficult and the instructions sent to the muscles will be delayed. Alcohol intoxication can slow down reaction time by 10{f19aa3268e0de58f68955454d58a1a58d35e804fdb04b2f57dd6dc7aad4ec259}-30{f19aa3268e0de58f68955454d58a1a58d35e804fdb04b2f57dd6dc7aad4ec259}.
Improper Muscle Function: As previously mentioned, alcohol affects the central nervous system and the brain. This leads to loss of coordination and control of muscle movements. Therefore, it makes it harder to operate a moving vehicle.
Impaired Vision And Hearing: The common mistake of drivers who get behind the wheel despite being drunk is the assumption that they can drive safely if they just focus on the road. However, drunk drivers usually focus on what’s ahead of them and they forget to look at what’s happening in their side vision. In addition, alcohol also reduces the driver’s ability to see things from a distance. Their night vision will be reduced by 25{f19aa3268e0de58f68955454d58a1a58d35e804fdb04b2f57dd6dc7aad4ec259}. Drunk drivers may also experience blurred or double vision.
Impaired Judgment or Reasoning: Alcohol intoxication will also impair the rational part of your brain that handles proper judgment and reasoning. This means that the driver’s ability to judge what’s right from wrong, good from bad will be greatly affected.
Tips To Avoid Drunk Driving
- Monitor how much your drink.
- Eat before you drink. If you have a full stomach, your body will absorb the alcohol more slowly.
- If possible do not drive when you had a few drinks. If you plan to drink, assign a designated driver or leave your car home.
- Hail a taxi or take the bus home if you are drunk. You could also sleep it off at your friend’s house.
