What are the Dangers of Drinking and Driving in Florida?

Drinking and driving is never a good idea anywhere, but have you ever wondered exactly why? Maybe you’re curious as to the exact dangers behind drinking and driving and how it affects you depending on the amount of alcohol you consume. No matter your curiosities, there are some sobering facts to pay attention to right off the bat.

In 2018, 814 people died from drunk driving crashes. This is more than two people a day who died from the result of someone choosing to drink alcohol and get behind the wheel of a car. Here is some more information on just how much alcohol can affect you when you get behind the wheel.

The Effects of Alcohol on the Human Body

For all intents and purposes, alcohol is a poison to the body. It affects many of the body’s systems and if ingested in high amounts, can kill a person just by consumption (also known as alcohol poisoning). But even in small amounts, alcohol can have negative effects.

• Alcohol slows your reaction time. Your ability to respond to critical tasks and process information is hindered even with just one drink. You can become sleepy, less alert, and unaware of what is around you.
• Alcohol also impairs your judgment. Your ability to quickly assess a situation and determine the best choice of action is affected hugely when you have been drinking. This may mean that you misjudge the timing of that red light, or how far that car is in front of you.
• Alcohol can lower your ability to determine what colors are what. It doesn’t make you colorblind, but it can make it more difficult for you to notice that red stop sign or that yellow light that’s telling you to slow down. If you combine this with having to make a quick traffic judgment, it can be deadly.
• Alcohol can alter your vision. Vision, of course, is the most important factor when it comes to driving. If you can’t see you can’t drive — and if you drink enough alcohol, your vision can be severely impaired, to the point that your eyes are jumpy and refuse to focus on anything. It can also cause hallucinations, blurry vision, a lack of depth perception, and many other vision issues that make it severely difficult to safely operate a vehicle.
• Alcohol can also reduce your concentration. Driving takes focus, and while it may not seem like you are always paying that much attention, to be a great driver you need to be able to notice everything. If you have been drinking, there’s no way to be positive that you are noticing everything and in fact, are likely not noticing even half of what you normally would when driving sober.

Have You Been the Victim of a Drunk Driver?

Alcohol is nothing to mess around with when you are behind the wheel of a car, and no one who has been consuming alcohol should be driving. In today’s world of Ubers, Lyfts, and taxis, there’s never an excuse for drinking and driving. If you’ve been involved in an automobile accident that involved alcohol, please give us a call today at Payer Law. Our experienced Orlando car accident lawyers can give you a free, no-risk case evaluation to help you get the compensation you deserve. To learn more, please contact us today.

Resource:

wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/news/2019-10-29/drunk-driving-deaths-are-down-in-florida

https://www.payerlawgroup.com/injured-in-somebodys-driveway-heres-what-to-do-next/