1. Alcohol and Drugs Driver Education Unit 3

2. Zero Tolerance If you are under the age of 21 – in any state in the U.S. - you cannot purchase, consume, or possess alcohol. – Possess = in your hand, in your car, etc, but also in your body

3. Alcohol’s Effect on Your Future Alcohol is a term used for the chemical substance ethanol, grain alcohol, and ethyl alcohol. Alcohol is chemically ethanol. Alcohol is a drug – classified as a depressant. It is one of the most abused drugs because it is legal, easy to obtain, and socially acceptable. Effects of Alcohol – Powerful and dangerous drug – Most widely abused drug in the US – Start using to be more social – Easy to become addicted

4. Responsibilities To yourself – Protect your own health – Stop yourself and others from drinking and driving To your friends – Don’t let them drink and drive – Take the keys – Call parents – Peer Pressure

5. Symptoms of a Problem Drinker Changes in a person’s behavior – Loss of initiative – Frequent lateness / absenteeism – Loss of friends – Trouble with the law Health Problems – Liver Failure (cirrhosis) – Heart Disease – Inflammation of the pancreas – Cancer – Brain Damage

6. Intoxicated What does it mean? -Being under the influence of alcohol -Being “drunk” -Being “buzzed” -Enough alcohol is in your system to make your BAC above the legal limit.

7. Measuring Alcohol Content Alcohol is measured in what’s called “proof” Proof is double the percent – To find proof, multiply the percent by 2 45% = 90 proof – To find percent from proof, divide by 2 100 proof = 50%

8. Administrative License Suspension If your BAC is.08 percent or higher while you are driving and law enforcement charges you with driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs or refusing a breath test, your driving privilege will be automatically suspended: – For seven days, for a first offense – For 60 days or until you go to trial, which ever comes first, for a second offence – Until the trial, for a third DUI offense

9. Judicial Procedures & Penalties Driving under the influence (DUI) is a criminal offense After an arrest of an intoxicated driver the following occurs: – Court Trial – Court Judgment – Serving Sentence

10. Penalties Under Age 21 Under 21, you cannot purchase, possess or consume alcohol. If you are convicted of driving and your BAC was at least.02 percent and less than.08, the court penalty will include: – A suspension of your driving privilege for one year from date of conviction, and, – A minimum mandatory fine of $500, or – The requirement that you complete at least 50 hours of community service.

11. Implied Consent When you use a public road, you give law enforcement officials permission to test you for alcohol use if arrested on suspicion of drinking and driving It is the law in 50 states Test will determine BAC: blood alcohol concentration In Virginia:.08% BAC is DWI (driving while intoxicated or DUI (driving under the influence)

12. DUI – Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs When operating a motor vehicle, boat, or watercraft in VA, you are considered DUI if your blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.08 percent or higher. You may be considered DUI with a lower BAC if your ability to operate a motor vehicle, boat, or watercraft is impaired.

13. Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Factors BAC is the percentage of alcohol in the blood Factors Affecting BAC – Weight (blood volume) – Time Spent Drinking – Gender – Food – Alcohol Content – Size of the Drink – Tolerance

14. BAC Factors Weight - Heavier people have more blood volume and other body fluids to dilute alcohol consumed. Their BAC will be lower than the BAC of a smaller person who drank the same amount of alcohol. Time Spent Drinking – On average a person’s BAC is oxidized at a rate of 0.015% per hour. 0.04 0.08 220 lbs 110 lbs

15. BAC Factors Gender - Women process alcohol at a slower rate than men. This is because they usually weigh less and produce less of the enzyme dehydrogenase needed by the liver to break down alcohol. – Men also have a higher percentage of body fluids which dilutes the alcohol. Food - The amount of food in your stomach does very little to reduce the effect alcohol has on the brain and liver. – However, food does coat the lining of the stomach and slows absorption into the blood stream. – When alcohol is mixed with carbonated beverages the absorption rate is faster because gases are absorbed faster than liquids.

16. Elimination of Alcohol ELIMINATION PROCESS An adult male with normal liver function eliminates about 0.015 BAC per hour. Therefore:BAC of 0.05 = 3.5 hours for removal BAC of 0.07 = 5.0 hours for removal BAC of 0.10 = 7.0 hours for removal BAC of 0.15 = 10.0 hours for removal Breath Urine Sweat } 10% LIVER 90%

17. Elimination Rate HRS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 ABSORPTIONELIMINATION Stops Drinking at 12:30am.16 = BAC Peak at 1 am Still legally INTOXICATED (.08) at 6 am Still IMPAIRED (.05) at 9:30AM

18. Alcohol Effects & You HEART - Decreased contractibility, Increased diastolic blood pressure, swelling, congestive heart failure STOMACH - Irritates lining, increases acidity, causes gastritis and ulcers BRAIN - Long-term: Destruction of brain nerve cells and memory loss ATTENTION - Affects ability to comprehend multiple things at once, BIG DRIVING PROBLEM MEMORY - Reduces ability to store and retain info. Even at.03 BAC “BLACK OUTS” EMOTIONS - Emotional control decreases; as alcohol increases = less control AGGRESSION - Behavior is enhanced; alcohol mixed with competition = ROAD RAGE

19. Are They the Same? Beer Whiskey Wine Cooler Mixed Drink

20. Are They the Same? Myth: A “DRINK” is: – A 12 ounce beer – A 4 to 6 ounce glass of wine, or – A shot of liquor Fact: A “DRINK” is: ½ an ounce of alcohol

21. How Much Alcohol Do They Contain? BeverageAlcohol % Beer3 – 11 % Wine8 – 25 % Liquor26 – 75.5 % Pure Grain Alcohol95 – 100 %

22. Effects of Alcohol Amount of DrinkAlcohol in BloodTypical Effects 1 Drink0.03 %Slight changes in feeling, may affect coordination 2 Drinks0.06 %Slight decrease in fine skills, less concern with minor 3 Drinks0.09 %Diminishment of fine motor skills, exaggerated emotions, talkative, noisy 4 Drinks0.12 %Impairment of fine coordination, clumsiness, slight to moderate unsteadiness in standing / walking 5 Drinks0.15 %Intoxication – unmistakable abnormality of bodily functions and mental faculties

23. Mental Effects of Alcohol Affects part of the brain that controls the ability to reason – Affects judgment – first thing affected – False message: Makes you think you are thinking clearly – Affects inhibitions: what stops you from going to far …. Disregarding consequences

24. Physical Affects of Alcohol First thing lost is judgment – What is judgment? – Why do you need it? – Why do you need it while driving? – What happens when judgment is impaired?

25. Physical Effects of Alcohol Reaction Time – 2 nd thing affected/lost – 2 or more drinks : physically slower, less alert – May be impaired after one drink Coordination – 3 rd thing affected/lost – Movement sloppy and uncoordinated – Can’t make split second decisions – Step on brakes too late … or miss them

26. Physical Effects of Alcohol Vision – 4 th thing effected/lost – Affects eyes’ reflex action that controls the size of the pupils – Drinker’s eyes are not protected against headlight glare – Temporary blindness results – Impairs side & color vision – May cause double vision

27. Physical Effects of Alcohol Depth & Perception – Alcohol affects the ability to judge – Can’t tell where cars around them are – Can’t judge how far things are Speed Perception – Can’t tell how fast a car is approaching – Distorted sense of speed

28. Myths and Facts About Alcohol Myth: Alcohol makes people feel better when they are down in the dumps Fact: Alcohol is a depressant or a downer – Can make you feel worse than before Myth: Sometimes because of peer pressure at a party, there is no other choice but to drink Fact: You ALWAYS have a choice – If you do drink, never drive – Always have a designated driver – Make arrangements to get a ride

29. Myths and Facts About Alcohol Myth: The average person can tolerate one drink per hours without substantial impairment Facts: Sobriety only returns with TIME. Alcohol is eliminated at approximately 0.015 BAC per hour. Myth: These can help you sober up quickly: black coffee, a cold shower, exercise Fact: Body can only burn ½ ounce of alcohol per hour. Nothing can speed up the process.

30. Tests for Intoxication Chemical analysis of blood or urine can measure BAC Breath-testing device can measure percentage of alcohol in breath Field Sobriety tests are a battery of roadside test given by a police officer VIRGINIA has Zero Tolerance for drivers under the age of 21

31. Tests for Intoxication If your BAC is under the legal limit, police can still stop you and administer the tests You can still be charged with a DUI/DWI Drivers who refuse the test will have their license suspended whether convicted or not

32. Alcohol Affects Persons Differently Fatigue – Alcohol is a depressant. It will compound the effect of fatigue. Medication – The chemical reaction between alcohol /drugs can produce an effect that is much greater than alcohol /drugs taken alone. Weight – Heavier people have more blood and body fluids to dilute the alcohol. Therefore, the BAC will be lower than that of a smaller person who consumed the same volume of alcohol. Age - The neurological development of the brain continues until a person is in their 20’s. The risks of impairing memory and learning capacity can be severely affected. Tolerance – Many drinkers develop an ability to mask the effects of alcohol has on their brain and body. Personality – Because people have unique personalities alcohol effects everyone differently. Experience – The inexperience driver is at extreme risk when alcohol is involved.

33. Alcohol Statistics Between 10pm – 2am one out of ten drivers are drunk. DUI crashes happen every 23 minutes Nationwide. Social Drinkers are most often arrested for DUI’s. 50% of Drivers arrested are social drinkers 21% of people between the ages of 15-20 that are killed in crashes are intoxicated

34. Ignition Interlock What is it? – Small, hand-held one piece alcohol sensor that is wired into a vehicle’s electrical system and requires a breath test before allowing the vehicle to be started How does it work? – Driver blows into it and it measures their BAC to determine if it is above or below a set point. If it is above, the unit will not allow the car to start. If below, once vehicle starts, it requires random retests every 20-60min during the operating of the vehicle. If driver fails test, unit causes the car’s headlights to flash and horn to honk continually.

35. Drugs and Driving Perception – this involves vision, hearing, etc. Perception – this involves vision, hearing, etc. Judgment - Poor judgments often result in collisions. Depressants and hallucinogens may greatly impair judgment. Judgment - Poor judgments often result in collisions. Depressants and hallucinogens may greatly impair judgment. Coordination – Drivers must coordinate hand, eye, and foot movements to successfully operate a vehicle. Coordination – Drivers must coordinate hand, eye, and foot movements to successfully operate a vehicle. Vision – Vision is key to the SEEit process and safe driving. Visual impairments make it difficult to predict, decide and execute. Narcotic drugs and cocaine have shown to lessen visual ability. Vision – Vision is key to the SEEit process and safe driving. Visual impairments make it difficult to predict, decide and execute. Narcotic drugs and cocaine have shown to lessen visual ability. Mood –Marijuana and depressants can produce such moods. Mood –Marijuana and depressants can produce such moods.

36. Other Drugs Affect Driving Ability Any drug can have a harmful effect on driving skill It depends on the type of drug May decrease ability to make sound decisions or respond to situations May change the way you think

37. Over-the-counter Drugs Drugs which can be purchased legally without a prescription – Cold, headache medicines Read package carefully Know the side effects Look for warnings – “Do not drive after using”

38. Prescription Medications Tranquilizers – agents including Valium have effects similar to alcohol and can cause driving task misjudgments. Depressants – for patients who are experiencing tension or are anxious. Slows down body proce.ss Stimulants – hallucinations, paranoia, increase distractibility and over-reliance to ward off fatigue. Speeds up body process Narcotics – Often used as pain relievers, narcotic drugs dull the senses and may produce inattention to driving. Blood Pressure Insulin

39. Marijuana The active ingredient THC ( delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol ) impairs:  Memory and learning  Perception (sight, sound, time, touch)  Problem-solving ability  Motor coordination  Tracking ability  Concentration  Affects awareness of speed  May not be able to tell when it wears off  Affects ability to judge space and time  Tracking  Following distance  Divided Attention

40. Marijuana Drugs most often found in the system of drivers who crash: – 1. alcohol – 2. marijuana