‘One for the Road’

WE HEARD the sirens, but we thought they were just from fire trucks rushing to a fire. I called my neighbor across the street, since he is a fireman. ‘He’ll know what’s going on,’ I thought. But his line was busy. Then I figured, ‘Let me call my son Jeff. Maybe he saw what happened on his way home.’ There was no answer. Now I really started to get nervous.

My 29-year-old son Jeff had come over that Sunday night to have dinner and to say good-bye​—he was leaving for vacation the next day. About a half hour earlier, he had hugged and kissed his father and me, and then he left. But why wasn’t he home yet? He lived only a few blocks away.

I called my neighbor again, and this time his wife answered. She said she would get her husband and have him call me back; he had gone out to see what happened. While I was in my bedroom waiting for his call, a police car pulled up in front of our house.

The police sergeant approached the front door. My husband Steve, his heart pounding, opened the door. Groping for words, the sergeant finally managed to get out: “I hate to say this, but there’s been a terrible accident and your son . . . your son is . . . is dead.”

That’s when I heard Steve yell, and I ran out to see what had happened. In disbelief I insisted: “It can’t be true. It’s got to be the other guy.”

“No, I don’t like to have to tell you this, Mrs. Ferrara,” the sergeant explained. “It was very quick, very sudden, but, yes, he’s gone.” I don’t remember another thing I said or did that evening.

At 9:50 p.m. that night, February 24, 1985, our son Jeff, an outgoing, curly-haired young man, died instantly when his pickup truck was struck by another car. And the other driver? According to the newspaper reports I’ve cut out and saved, he is an executive assistant district attorney. Among other things, he was charged with drunken driving. Only time will tell whether he is convicted. Regardless, our Jeff is gone.​—As told to Awake! by Shirley Ferrara.

Drinking and Driving​—A Deadly Problem. The statistics are sobering. About every 20 minutes a scene like the one described above is repeated somewhere in the United States. Alcohol contributes to more than half of all traffic fatalities, claiming from 23,000 to 28,000 lives each year on American roads. It is estimated that 40 percent of the drivers killed on the roads in Canada each year have blood alcohol levels above the legal limit. Germany has its share of the problem​—approximately one out of every four road deaths is due to drinking and driving.

And as Jeff’s tragic experience illustrates, even if you yourself don’t drink and drive, you’re by no means safe. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States estimates that on Friday and Saturday nights, when consumption of alcohol is at its highest, in some areas one out of every ten drivers on the road is legally drunk! So how safe are you if the driver around the next curve is too drunk to control his car?

But statistics don’t tell the whole story. Statistics can’t tell the grief of the mother, like Shirley, whose son or daughter has been killed in an alcohol-related car accident. Statistics can’t convey the guilt of the driver who, after sobering up, realizes that he’s taken another’s life. As one young man lamented: “No matter what the jury decides, I’ve got to live with the fact that four people are dead because of me. There isn’t a moment since it happened that I don’t think of it. It’s always there, when I wake up in the morning and when I go to sleep at night.”

Of course, it’s up to you whether you drink moderately or not at all. But driving while under the influence of alcohol (or any other drug) is not a private matter​—not when the lives of others are at stake! Yet, how many times have you heard of someone saying the proverbial ‘one for the road’ and then snatching a quick drink before slipping behind the wheel and driving home?

Drinking and driving is a problem, a death-dealing problem.

Alcohol and You

‘Joe, I think you’ve had one too many,’ the host says.

‘Who, me?’ Joe replies, slurring his words. ‘I can handle it!’

‘Maybe so, but I suggest you have a cup of coffee before you drive home.’

GOOD advice? Definitely not! Actually, if he’s had too much to drink, a cup of coffee will not make it safe for Joe to drive home; nor will a breath of fresh air, a cold shower, or exercise. Such things may make Joe more awake. But there’s only one thing that will help him to sober up​—time. To understand this better, it is helpful to take a look at how your body handles alcohol.

How Alcohol Works

When you drink an alcoholic beverage, the alcohol is quite “anxious” to get into your bloodstream.a Unlike other foods, it doesn’t need to be digested. Some 20 percent immediately passes into your bloodstream through the walls of your stomach. The rest is absorbed when it passes on to your small intestine.

The extent to which alcohol affects you depends upon how much it builds up in your bloodstream. And how quickly it builds up depends upon several factors:

(1) Amount of alcohol consumed: How much alcohol do you consume with a typical drink? Does a can of beer contain less alcohol than a shot of whiskey? Surprising as it may seem, the typical serving of beer, table wine, and 80-proof whiskey all contain about the same amount of alcohol​—a little more than a half ounce (15 cc).b

Thus, the report Physiological Effects of Alcohol, published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, concludes: “In terms of the effects that drinking has on an individual’s mind and body, then, it does not really matter a great deal whether he or she chooses to drink wine, beer, or ‘hard liquor’​—what is most important is the actual amount of alcohol consumed.”

(2) Rate of absorption: A number of factors can affect the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream. Food is one factor. That is, having food in your stomach tends to dilute alcohol and slow down its absorption. So a person who has a glass of table wine with dinner will raise his blood alcohol level less than if he drank the same amount of alcohol on an empty stomach. The spacing of drinks can also affect absorption. Two drinks within a few minutes are much more intoxicating than two drinks taken over a couple of hours.

Weight is another factor. Why? Simply because the more a person weighs, the more fluid there is in his body to dilute alcohol. For example, explains the report Development of a Traffic Safety and Alcohol Program for Senior Adults:c “A person weighing 160 pounds [73 kg] has about 110 pounds [50 kg] of water in his/​her body to dilute alcohol. After three drinks in an hour his/​her BAC [blood alcohol content] would be about 0.07 percent. If an individual weighing 100 pounds [45 kg] drank the same amount in the same time, his/​her BAC would be about 0.11 percent, and [he/​she] would be eligible for arrest as a drunken driver.”

The alcohol concentration of the drink may also affect the absorption rate. That is, the greater the alcohol concentration of the drink the quicker the alcohol will be absorbed.

So the absorption of alcohol into your bloodstream can be somewhat hastened or slowed​—depending on any of the above influences. However, there is one other factor that determines how much alcohol builds up in your bloodstream.

(3) Oxidation rate: Once alcohol is in your bloodstream, your body begins working to eliminate it. A small percentage (between 2 and 10 percent) is given off unchanged in the breath, sweat, and urine. The remainder is oxidized, “burned up,” mostly in the liver, where the chemical structure of the alcohol is changed to release heat and energy.

How quickly does your liver oxidize alcohol? The rate of oxidation may vary slightly from person to person, depending upon such factors as weight and health. According to the report by Malfetti and Winter, “as a general guide, a 150-pound [68-kg] person can oxidize (or ‘burn up’) the alcohol in one drink in one hour.”

How does alcohol build up in your bloodstream if your liver quickly swings into action to eliminate it? It is simple: When the absorption rate exceeds the oxidation rate, the blood alcohol level rises. The report Physiological Effects of Alcohol illustrates it this way: “It’s much like bailing water out of a leaky boat: If alcohol ‘leaks’ into the blood faster than the body can ‘bail it out,’ its level, or concentration, rises.” And as the blood alcohol level rises, the person gets increasingly intoxicated.

So while alcohol is rather “anxious” to get into the bloodstream, it takes its time about leaving. The body will “burn up” the alcohol at its fixed oxidation rate. And until it does, you should keep off the road. Why? Because alcohol affects you in several areas that are essential for the safe driving of an automobile.

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 5]

If he’s had too much to drink, will coffee make it safe for him to drive?

Alcohol and Driving

YOU SLIP behind the steering wheel, start the engine, and off you go. Driving may become second nature to you, especially if you’ve been doing it for years. But it is not as simple as it may seem.

It has been estimated that under normal circumstances you make about 20 major decisions for each mile you drive. Decisions about what you see and hear in connection with other cars, traffic signs, and pedestrians must be translated into actions involving the brake, the accelerator, the clutch, and the steering wheel. And you don’t have much time to decide​—often just a split second.

So driving requires a delicate coordination between decisions and actions. Alcohol makes this driving task especially dangerous. Why? Because alcohol affects the driver in several ways that significantly impair his ability to drive safely.​—See the box, “BAC and Behavior,” on page 8.

Alcohol and Vision

When you drive, it has been estimated, 85 to 90 percent of the information you obtain regarding the traffic situation is received through your eyes. Your vision is controlled by a very delicate system of muscles that move and focus your eyes. Alcohol slows the function of these muscles and thus impairs vision in several ways.

For one thing, alcohol reduces the ability of the eyes to control the amount of light entering the retina. That’s especially critical at night. Why? Because it increases the amount of time it takes for the eye to recover from the glare of oncoming headlights. Explains Alcohol, Vision & Driving, distributed by the American Automobile Association: “Normally, it takes one second for the pupil to constrict and respond to the glare of oncoming headlights. It takes seven seconds after exposure to headlight glare for the pupil to once again adapt to the dark conditions. This recovery action is slowed by alcohol.”

Consider the potential danger: It is late at night. You are driving on a winding, narrow highway​—just one lane in each direction. The glare of the headlights is blinding for drivers on both sides of the road. How safe would you feel if you knew that the driver of an oncoming car had been drinking?

Alcohol also reduces peripheral vision​—the ability, when looking straight ahead, to notice things on either side of you. This is especially dangerous when mixing alcohol and high-speed driving. Explains Alcohol, Vision & Driving: “Most drivers fail to realize that at 30 MPH [48 km/​hr], a driver has reduced his side vision by 25%. At 45 MPH [72 km/​hr], he has reduced his side vision by 50%. And at speeds over 60 MPH [97 km/​hr], he is literally driving down a ‘vision tunnel.’”

Just imagine the possible consequences when the drinking driver speeds through intersections or past parked cars where a small child may suddenly dart out.

Moreover, alcohol can cause double vision, so that the drinking driver may see two cars approaching him instead of one. Furthermore, it can affect a person’s ability to judge distance. From all of this, it is evident that alcohol and driving, like oil and water, just don’t mix. Indeed, the Bible has it right when it says: “Who has dullness of eyes? Those staying a long time with the wine.”​—Proverbs 23:29, 30.

But accurately seeing the traffic situation around you is only part of what is involved in safely driving a car.

Alcohol and Judgment

Once you perceive the traffic scene, you must judge, or decide, what action you are going to take. For example, suppose you’re traveling on a two-way road, and the car in front of you is moving very slowly. You must decide if and when it is safe to pass.

Here, too, alcohol can be deadly. How so? Often, as the drinker’s blood alcohol level rises, so does his self-confidence. Explains the manual Alcohol and Alcohol Safety: “A person at this stage [.04 to .06 percent blood alcohol content] is likely to consider himself more alert and even more capable than normally even though there has been a reduction of his reaction time, his judgment, and his ability to respond to emergencies. Thus, as his actual ability to perform decreases, his confidence in this ability increases.”​—Compare Proverbs 20:1; 23:29-35.

As a result, the drinking driver may take more chances in passing or speeding. Why, if the person is a poor or an inexperienced driver to begin with, even the slightest effect on his judgment could be dangerous!

Alcohol and Reflexes

It’s bad enough that the drinking driver has trouble seeing and takes more risks. What further compounds the problem is that alcohol also slows down his reaction time. As a result, it may take just a fraction of a second longer for him to move his foot from the accelerator to the brake pedal.

To illustrate how dangerous that can be, the report by Malfetti and Winter notes that if you have just two 12-ounce (355-cc) cans of beer within an hour, your reaction time may be slowed by two fifths of a second. Now, that may not sound like much. But the report notes: In two fifths of a second, an automobile traveling at 55 miles per hour (90 km/​hr) will travel an additional 34 feet (10.4 m)! Why, that could be the difference between a near-miss and a fatal accident!

When you consider how alcohol affects a person’s vision, judgment, and reflexes, it is easy to see why drinking and driving are a deadly combination. But what can be done about the problem? And how can you protect yourself and your family from the driver who has had too much to drink?

[Chart on page 8]

(For fully formatted text, see publication.)

BAC and Behavior

If a person consumes and absorbs alcohol faster than his body can oxidize, or “burn,” it, the level of alcohol builds up in his bloodstream. Researchers refer to this as the BAC (blood alcohol content). For example, a BAC of 0.02 percent means that 0.02 percent of one’s blood consists of alcohol. As the BAC rises, the person gets increasingly intoxicated, as the following chart illustrates.a

BAC of 0.02 percent: The “depression of the nerve centers controlling the inhibitions and judgment centers begins to a mild degree when the blood alcohol level reaches .02%, which, for a person of average weight [154 pounds (70 kg)], would require the ingestion of 1/2 ounce [15 cc] of alcohol. This is the amount usually contained in one drink of beer, whiskey or wine.”​—Alcohol and Alcohol Safety, a manual prepared for The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (U.S.A).

BAC of 0.05 percent: “Driving skills are impaired at blood alcohol concentrations (.04-.05 percent) one might observe after drinking only two to three alcoholic beverages on an empty stomach.”​—Fifth Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health.

“Changes in mood and behavior appear at a BAC of 0.05 percent. Judgment, thought and restraint also are usually affected at this level.”​—Development of a Traffic Safety and Alcohol Program for Senior Adults, by James L. Malfetti and Darlene J. Winter.

In some areas this is the level at which a person can be arrested for driving while ability impaired (DWAI).

BAC of 0.10 percent: “At a BAC of 0.10 percent (five average drinks in one hour) voluntary motor actions​—walking, hand movements, speech may become clumsy. Blurring and split vision may occur at this level. So also might tunnel vision: on a highway, for example, a driver or pedestrian sees only what is directly ahead, not those dangers that may be to the side.”​—Senior Adults, Traffic Safety and Alcohol Program Leader’s Guide, by Darlene J. Winter, Ph.D.

“Drivers with blood alcohol concentrations above 0.10 percent have been estimated to be 3 to 15 times more likely to have a fatal accident than nondrinking drivers.”​—Fifth Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health.

In many places, this is the level at which a person can be arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI).

One does not have to be staggering drunk before his or her ability to drive diminishes. So why mix drinking and driving at all? The safest rule to follow is: If you drive, don’t drink; if you drink, don’t drive.

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 6]

How safe would you feel if you knew that the driver of an oncoming car had been drinking?

[Picture on page 7]

The effect of alcohol on your reflexes could mean the difference between a near-miss and a fatal accident!

[Credit Line]

H. Armstrong Roberts

Drinking and Driving​—What Can Be Done?

THE OCEANSIDE resort town of Southampton, New York, has declared war on drunk driving. What is part of the battle plan? The Designated Driver Program. How does it work? Under the program, when going out socially, individuals decide within their group who will be the driver for the evening. Many of the town’s bars and restaurants issue a “Designated Driver” button for those who are chosen.

Then what? Councilwoman Patricia Neumann, one of the promoters of the program, explained to Awake!: “The person wearing the button is entitled to free soft drinks for the evening on the premise that he or she will drive the others home.”

But that’s not all the town does. Councilwoman Neumann continues: “Every week, our local newspaper prints, in a rather prominent place, the name, age, and address of any person arrested for driving while intoxicated.” And the result? She adds: “Our roadblocks turned up fewer and fewer people who were driving while intoxicated. I think all three things together​—the roadblocks, the printing of the names in the paper, and the Designated Driver Program—​have helped.”

That is what one town has done. Of course, while such efforts may be effective in reducing the number of fatalities, they by no means completely eliminate the problem. Meanwhile, what can you do to protect yourself and your family? Several things.

Be Responsible About Drinking and Driving

A Bible proverb says: “Wine is a ridiculer, intoxicating liquor is boisterous, and everyone going astray by it is not wise.” (Proverbs 20:1) That recommends having a responsible attitude toward the use of alcoholic beverages, acting in such a way that you never have to feel sorry for what happened when you were drinking.

That is not to suggest that the Bible endorses prohibition. In no way does it condemn the moderate use of alcohol. (Psalm 104:15; 1 Timothy 3:2, 3, 8) But as the previous article showed, a person does not have to be staggering drunk before his or her ability to drive is impaired. So a Christian should be cautious about drinking before getting in the driver’s seat. Frankly, why take a chance by mixing drinking and driving at all?

Perhaps a lesson can be learned from counsel given to kings back in Bible times. Proverbs 31:4 states: “It is not for kings [when officiating] to drink wine or for high officials to say: ‘Where is intoxicating liquor?’” But why abstinence? The next verse Pr 31:5 explains: “That one may not drink and forget what is decreed and pervert the cause of any of the sons of affliction.” What does that suggest? That there may well be times when abstaining from alcohol is in order, especially when we engage in activities that have a direct bearing on the lives of others.​—See also Leviticus 10:8, 9.

Consider, too, the Bible’s words at Romans 14:21: “It is well not to eat flesh or to drink wine or do anything over which your brother stumbles.” So, there may be occasions when a Christian should refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages out of consideration for the sensitive viewpoint of others. Would that not strongly suggest that the Christian should avoid mixing drinking and driving and thus show consideration, not simply for the viewpoint, but for the very lives of others?

Then there is the matter of setting an example for others, particularly youths. If you are a parent, you have special reason to beware. Before you caution your teenager about the dangers of drinking and driving, make sure your own actions support what you are saying. The do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do philosophy usually doesn’t work with children. Often they pay more attention to what you do than to what you say.​—Compare Proverbs 20:7.

When You’re the Host

Genuine hospitality involves much more than providing your guests with food and drink. When you invite others to your home, you have a responsibility to set the tone for the evening. You also have a moral responsibility for their safety.

In fact, some areas even have laws stating that those who serve alcoholic beverages to visibly intoxicated persons may be held liable if there’s an accident involving such persons. In recommending the enactment of such laws, the U.S. Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving noted: “These laws implicitly establish the necessity of placing responsibility on the part of the seller or server, whether they be commercial or individual hosts. [Such] laws also reinforce the principle that others have a responsibility to prevent intoxicated individuals from driving.”

Clearly, whether there’s a law against it or not, when you serve alcoholic beverages to guests in your home, you have a responsibility to see to it that things are kept under control.​—Please see the accompanying box “Be a Responsible Host.”

What Governments Are Doing

As public concern over the dangers of drinking and driving increases, governments have stepped up their efforts to deal with the problem. Here’s what some are doing:

Raising the minimum drinking age: Does it really help? Consider what happened in the United States and Canada when the drinking age was lowered some years ago. Explains a report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:a “In a study of various states and Canadian provinces that reduced the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen, significant increases were shown in fatal crashes.” But, then, beginning in 1976, some of the places that had lowered the drinking age began to raise it. The result? The same report answers: “When states raise the drinking age, there is a corresponding decrease in fatal crashes among law-affected drivers.”

Passing tougher laws: In some areas, drinking drivers face stiff fines, increased license-suspension periods, and jail sentences for repeat offenses. Are such tougher laws the answer? Notes Alcohol Health and Research World: “In Britain, fatalities from traffic accidents decreased initially by 23 percent in response to the widely publicized Road Safety Act of 1967, which allowed police to require alcohol breath tests of drivers. Passage of similar legislation in Canada brought about an 8 percent reduction.”

But before long the results in both countries somewhat dissipated. Why? The report continues: “Because drivers whom publicity had convinced of a new higher risk of arrest learned from subsequent experience that the risk had not really increased much.” In other words, tougher laws are effective only if they are strictly enforced. As the Bible long ago put it: “When a sentence against a crime isn’t quickly carried out, men are encouraged to do wrong.”​—Ecclesiastes 8:11, An American Translation by William F. Beck.

Clearly, there is no easy solution to the deadly problem of drinking and driving. Governments are trying to tackle it. But each person must do his part. Before ever mixing drinking and driving, stop and think. Think about your own life. Think about the lives of others traveling with you. And think about the pain felt by the loved ones of those whose lives were cut short by the drinking driver. As Shirley Ferrara said regarding her son Jeff: “Twenty-nine years old is awfully young to die. It really is.”

[Footnotes]

[Box on page 10]

Be a Responsible Host

If you serve alcoholic beverages to guests in your home, what can you do to keep things from getting out of hand? Here are a few suggestions:

● Don’t hesitate to suggest to a guest who will be driving that he should be careful about any drinking of alcoholic beverages

● Limit the amount of alcohol served

● Offer nonalcoholic beverages as well

● If possible, have some food or snacks available. Remember that food slows the absorption of alcohol

● Don’t push others to drink

● If someone has had too much to drink, then by all means don’t allow him or her to drive. Make some other arrangements for that one to get home safely

[Box on page 12]

How to Protect Yourself From the Drinking Driver

How can you protect yourself and your family from the driver who has had too much to drink? It helps if you wear a seat belt and keep a safe distance between you and other drivers. Also, be on the lookout for the drinking driver. Watch out for the driver who:

● Turns with wide radius

● Straddles center or lane marker

● Almost strikes another object or vehicle

● Weaves or swerves

● Drives on other than designated roadway

● Drives at slow speed (more than 10 MPH below limit)

● Stops without cause in traffic lane

● Follows too closely

● Brakes erratically

● Drives into opposing or crossing traffic

● Signals inconsistent with driving actions

● Responds slowly to traffic signals

● Turns abruptly or illegally

● Accelerates or decelerates rapidly

● Drives at night with headlights off

Based on The Visual Detection of Driving While Intoxicated, by Anacapa Sciences, Inc. Prepared for the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

[Picture on page 9]

In many areas, drinking drivers face stiff fines, license suspension, and jail sentences

[Picture on page 11]

Why take a chance by mixing drinking and driving?