How it affects our driving Drugs and Alcohol How it affects our driving

Alcohol Alcohol can change the way you act, think and feel. Annual deaths associated with alcohol are 5 times higher than all other illegal drugs combined.( marijuana, cocaine, heroin, etc.)

Your responsibilities You have a responsibility to protect yourself from the health threats of drinking. You have a responsibility to protect yourself and others from the risk of drinking and driving.

Your responsibilities If you are with someone who has been drinking, don’t let that person drive. You can take their keys, drive them yourself, call someone for a ride, or make other arrangements.

Your responsibilities There are support groups to help problem drinkers and their relatives and friends. These groups keep any information confidential. Alcoholics anonymous ALATEEN- support group for young people who have an alcoholic parent, sibling or friend.

Symptoms of problem drinking Changes in a person’s behavior or life situation. Loss of initiative, frequent lateness, behavior problems, decline in grades, change of friends, trouble with the law.

Alcohol and its affect on driving 1 death every 32 minutes in the US. 21 % of 15 to 20 year olds who were killed in crashes were intoxicated. 327,000 people were injured in crashes where alcohol was present. 1 in 3 of all Americans will be in an alcohol related crash at some time in their lives.

Myths Beer will not get you drunk as fast as liquor. Fact : 12 oz. beer, 5 oz. glass of wine, and 1 ½ oz. of liquor all have about the same amount of alcohol.

Myths You can’t get drunk on a full stomach. Fact: It just takes the alcohol longer to get into your blood stream.

Myths Black coffee, a cold shower or exercise can sober you up. Nothing can speed up alcohol leaving the body.

Myths Alcohol makes me feel “ more alive”. It picks me up. Fact: Alcohol is a depressant.

Physical effects of alcohol REACTION TIME After 1 or more drinks, a driver becomes physically slower and less alert. COORDINATION Movement gets sloppy and uncoordinated. You are also less able to make critical decisions. DISTANCE PERCEPTION Alcohol affects the ability to judge distance or depth. You can not tell where vehicles around you really are or how far away signs and signals are.

Physical effects of alcohol SPEED PERCEPTION You cannot tell how fast other vehicles are approaching. You also have a distorted sense of how fast you are going. VISION Alcohol affects the reflex action of the eyes. Your eyes do not respond to bright light in the normal way. Double vision and poor focus is also possible.

TYPES OF DRUGS OVER THE COUNTER Drugs that can be purchased legally without a doctor’s prescription. PRESCRIPTION Prescribed by a doctor. DEPRESSANTS Slow down or depress the central nervous system.

Types of Drugs STIMULANT Speed up, or stimulate the central nervous system. HALLUCINOGENS Illegal. They are mind altering drugs. They change the way you think, see and act. Marijuana, LSD, PCP. NARCOTICS Strong depressant. Can cause stupor, coma and death.

SYNERGISM The interaction of one drug with another to enhance the effect of one or both. Ex: If a person drinks alcohol and takes a depressant, the combination could produce an effect that is greater than the individual effects of either when taken alone.