Alcohol and Other Drugs

The statistics change somewhat over the years; however, one fact remains as true today as ever: We lose too many lives to alcohol/drug related driving crashes.

Alcohol

Driving under the influence is a legal term that relates to the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in one's blood as expressed as weight per unit of volume. For example, a BAC of 0.10 would be a concentration of 100 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)

General Information

Driving with a BAC of 0.10 is a crime in 30 states; driving with a BAC of 0.08 is a crime in 19 states (including Virginia) and the District of Columbia. A BAC of 0.08 is evidence of an alcohol violation in Massachusetts. (IIHS)
Why the big deal? According to the IIHS "the probability of a crash increases at any BAC higher than zero." In other words, any alcohol in the blood system of an individual causes impairment. With each increase in one's BAC the probability of an accident becomes greater.
Beer, wine and liquor effect one's driving ability the same. For example, 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine and 1.25 ounces of 80 proof liquor have the same effect on your BAC. (IIHS)
The effects of alcohol may differ somewhat person-to-person; however, alcohol effects all people who have BAC levels above zero.
The effects of alcohol have been documented over the years. Alcohol effects your ability to make decision, impairs your judgment, gives one a false sense of self-confidence, delays reaction time, impairs motor skills, and greatly reduces your inhibitions. To review the effects of alcohol click VASAP on the home page.
During 1999, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that 30 percent of all traffic deaths occurred when one or more of those involved in the accident had a BAC of 0.10 or higher and that alcohol was present in 38 percent of all fatal crashes.
Males are more likely than females, at least statistically, to drive while having BACs of 0.10 or higher according to recent studies (IIHS) as well as ones conducted at various times over the years. For example, during 1999, of the fatally injured male drivers of passenger vehicles, 34% had BACs of 0.10 or higher; among female drivers, the figure was 16%.
Of the fatal traffic injuries reported during 1999, between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., 53% had BACs of 0.10 or higher. (IIHS)
Eighty-seven percent of drivers involved in fatal crashes had no alcohol convictions during the prior 3 years; however, those drivers involved in alcohol-related convictions were 1.8 times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes as those with no prior convictions of alcohol violations. (IIHS)
The IIHS and the NHTSA compared the results of roadside BAC breath surveys conducted during 1973, 1986 and 1996; the results are encouraging. During roadside breath surveys in 1973, 13.7% of those tested had BACs above 0.05 or higher. During 1986, of those tested 8.4% had BACs of at least 0.05 or higher. During 1996, of those tested 7.7% had BACs of 0.05 or higher.
A 1988 report by the NHTSA concluded that tranquilizers, sedatives, hypnotics such a barbiturates, and marijuana had "the most potential to be highway safety hazards."
A federal study during 1992 indicated that of the cases studied where 1882 drivers were fatally injured, 52% had alcohol in their system and 43% had BACs of 0.10 or higher. They found that of these 1882 drivers, only 6% had drugs in their systems without alcohol and they could find no evidence that the drugs alone were the determining cause in responsibility for the fatal crashes. (IIHS)
The results of a 1992 federal study seem to indicates that using certain types of drugs in combination with alcohol or one or more drugs increases the likelihood of being involved in fatal injury crashes. (IIHS)

Laws relating to drinking and driving in Virginia

Legally, you are considered driving under the influence if your blood alcohol content (BAC) is .08 or higher.
You can be found guilty of driving under the influence even if your BAC is under .08.
Your license may be administratively suspended if you register a .08 BAC or refuse to take a breath test.
If you are caught driving after your license has been suspended for an alcohol-related offense, your vehicle may be impounded for 30 days; if convicted, your vehicle may be impounded for an additional 90 days.
Virginia has what is called a "Zero Tolerance" for alcohol use for those under 21 years of age. If you are under 21 and are caught with a BAC of at least .02 but under .08 and drive you can be fined up to $500 and your license to drive will be suspended for six months. Jail is also a possibility.
If you allow another person to drive you vehicle and you know that person has a revoked or suspended driver's license for an alcohol offense, you can be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor.
The police have the right to ask you to take a breath or blood test to determine your BAC. If you refuse, your license will be suspended for 7 days and may be suspended for one year.

For more in-depth information regarding the effects of alcohol visit the VASAP site by clicking VASAP on the home page. Check out the following sites by clicking here Driving Impaired or Drinking and Driving. For additional information regarding Virginia's laws regarding drinking and driving, click here Virginia DUI Laws.

Other Drugs

IIHS, during 2000, looked at the potential of various drugs on effecting safe driving:

What is the potential contribution of drugs to motor vehicle crashes? There is not much information on drug use among drivers or on driver impairment by drugs other than alcohol. Information on drivers' drug use comes primarily from tests on people killed in crashes or hospitalized with crash injuries. Most such studies have found drugs other than alcohol among fewer than 10 percent (usually fewer than 5 percent) of fatally injured or hospitalized car drivers. Also, drugs other than alcohol are infrequently found alone. They are more often found in combination with high blood alcohol concentrations. Car drivers' apparently low use of drugs other than alcohol, especially by themselves, limits the potential contribution of such drugs to the motor vehicle crash problem.

A 1992 federal study revealed that 18 percent of fatally injured drivers have other drugs in their systems but that these drugs are most often combined with alcohol. Alcohol was found in 52 percent of 1,882 fatally injured drivers. Forty-three percent had blood alcohol concentrations of 0.10 percent or more. Only 6 percent had drugs without alcohol, and researchers found no evidence that drivers with drugs but no alcohol are more likely to be responsible for their crashes, compared with drug-free drivers. The researchers did find drugs related to crash responsibility when combined with alcohol or when two or more drugs were found.

A 1993 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine focuses on drivers without alcohol in their systems who were stopped by police for reckless driving. Urine tests revealed 45 percent had marijuana and 25 percent had cocaine in their systems. Although the authors suggest these findings show drugs to be a bigger problem than alcohol, the data did not allow this conclusion. All studies that have appropriately addressed the issue have found alcohol to be by far the greater problem. IIHS

Many drugs have the possibility of being abused. Some of those drugs have the potential of having deadly effectives on those who drive while under their influence. Below are a few of those drugs. Click on the various drugs to see their possible effects on a person's body/and or mind. (The information below is also available at the following location: The Center for Alcohol and other Drug Education at The George Washington University)

Depressants

Stimulants

Other

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