Dean Martin once said, "You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on." Turns out that isn't really true. It doesn't take a vertigo-inducing amount of alcohol to impair you and make you a danger to yourself and others.
A new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that around 15% of alcohol-related traffic fatalities involve someone whose blood alcohol level is below the legal limit of 0.08%. That's because cognitive impairment can begin at a blood alcohol level as low as 0.03%. Among those fatalities, 55% are folks other than the drinking driver.
Some states have taken steps to counter this risk by lowering the legal blood alcohol concentration to 0.05 - and there's been a decrease in these crashes. Now the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine have recommended it become the standard nationwide. But each one of you needs to recognize that those couple of glasses of wine at a restaurant or that margarita (or two) after work before your drive home could be enough to make that your last happy hour.
Rely on designated drivers and car services whenever you've been drinking. If you cannot do that and you're unwilling to skip a drink, it might be time to go online to see if you're a problem drinker (overindulgent) or an alcoholic (addicted). Check out www.alcohol.org and call the National Helpline at 800-662-4357.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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