As you might have learned if you have a taken a Texas defensive driving course recently, authorities across the U.S. use Blood-Alcohol Content (BAC) to determine if you have had too much to drink while operating a motor vehicle. The legal limit is .08%, so if you get pulled over or are in an accident and get tested (blood or breathe) and you return a result of .08% you have broken the law. However, if you test out at less than the legal limit, by law you are considered safe to be driving. Recent research questions that notion, and shows that for their own safety drivers should think twice before driving even if they have had as little as one drink.
This topic has been at the front of the news recently, with the tragic death of Ryan Dunn of MTV’s Jackass fame. He sadly lost control of his sports car after reportedly drinking and hanging out with his friends, crashing into a group of trees where his car burst into flames killing himself and one passenger. His BAC at the time of the crash was .196% – well above the legal limit. The question being asked now, is whether or not a driver that has had anything to drink should be driving? A recent report out of the University of California – San Diego would say the answer to that question is “no”. Their research found that a driver that has had as little as one alcoholic beverage is more likely to be involved in a vehicular crash than a completely sober driver. They also note that as the BAC of a driver increases their probability of crashing and the severity of a crash increases. For example, a driver with a BAC of .01% (the equivalent of a 180 lb person consuming one drink in a 2 hour period) was more likely than a driver with a BAC of .00% of being in a crash, and the severity of the crash (in terms of injuries and fatalities) was worse for the driver at a .04% BAC. Their data showed that the severity of the crash increased by 37% for a driver at .01% BAC as compared to a sober driver. Here are some statistics that back up their findings:
In the last year of their research there were 50,430 vehicles, and 84,026 people involved in fatal traffic crashes. Of these, there were 37,261 fatalities, and 10,048 incapacitating injuries. A high BAC was the leading risk factor in these crashes. When studying this crash data they found that for every .01% that a driver’s BAC increases, so did the driver’s average speed and the severity of the crash.
It may be this type of data that has other countries with lower BAC laws. For example, Sweden has a BAC law limit of .02%, while Japan has a limit at .03% and Germany (home of the Autoban) is at .05%.
Should we consider lowering our BAC limits, or is the responsibility on the drivers and education is key to limiting these terrible crashes?
Let me know what you think?
