CHAPTER 11 OVERVIEW OF THE DUI PROBLEM

DUI: THE PROBLEM Estimates indicate approx. 25% of America’s drivers occasionally drive while under the influence, and that offenders commit the offense an average of 80 times per year.

DUI: DETERRANCE Behavioral change in individuals is fundamental to prevention. The public should: Avoid committing DUI Intervene actively to prevent others from committing DUI Avoid riding with drivers who are impaired

ALCOHOL AND THE HUMAN BODY Alcohol is a Central Nervous System Depressant and is the most abused drug in the United States. Effects: loss of fine motor skills, hand/eye coordination, and judgment. Often the person who is affected by alcohol doesn’t think that he or she is impaired.

ALCOHOL AND THE HUMAN BODY Absorption- the process by which alcohol enters the bloodstream. The absorption rate of alcohol varies based on weight and gender, whether and how much food he or she has eaten, and the alcohol concentration of the substances consumed.

ALCOHOL AND THE HUMAN BODY Distribution: the process by which alcohol is carried via the bloodstream to the body’s tissues and organs. Metabolism: the biological process by which the body breaks alcohol down into compounds that are more readily eliminated.

ALCOHOL AND THE HUMAN BODY Elimination: when the body expels alcohol through exhaled breath, sweat, tears, saliva, urine, etc. The average alcohol elimination rate of humans is.015 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood per hour. (“Extrapolation”)

LEVEL OF IMPAIRMENT Any amount of alcohol will impair you to some degree. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) or Breath alcohol concentration (BrAC)- FS establishes legal limit of 0.08g/210L of breath or g/100mL of blood.

LESSON 2: LEGAL ISSUES KEY TERMS Driving under the influence (DUI)- a person who is driving, has driven, or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs. Actual physical control- a person who is physically in, on, or around the vehicle and has the capability to operate the vehicle.

KEY TERMS Vehicle- every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway. Within the state- anywhere in Florida. Normal faculties- the ability to see, hear, walk, talk, judge distances, drive, make judgements, act in emergencies, perform normal daily activities.