Even one drink can be dangerous

highwayman

highwayman

New Member
Guess nobody told these people that life is terminal, so enjoy it while you can...



SEATTLE, June 30 (UPI) -- A University of Washington study warns that even a single strong drink can make a person "blind drunk" and impair the drinker's driving abilities.

The study, appearing in Friday's issue of the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology, found that those who were mildly intoxicated -- which is half the legal intoxication limit -- were heavily compromised in their ability to notice an unexpected visual object while being focused on another simple task.

It has been known that the so-called "inattentional blindness" phenomenon causes salient objects appearing in the visual field to go undetected. But the current study seeks to show these visual errors become even more likely under the influence of alcohol.

The research did not directly test driving aptitude but noted implications for driving could be serious.

"We rely on our ability to perceive a multitude of information when we drive (speed limit, road signs, other cars)," said Seema Clifasefi, the study's lead author. "If even a mild dose of alcohol compromises our ability to take in some of this information ... then it seems likely that our driving ability may also be compromised."
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What a brilliant deduction. Who would have known that drinking impairs your driving ability? Well, certainly not them, they just guessed.

Ever see all that propaganda that says 'Don't drink and drive!'?

Yep, thanks U of Wash, but we already knew.
 
Altron said:
Ever see all that propaganda that says 'Don't drink and drive!'?
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IMHO the current drunk driving laws are justified, for the simple reason that there is always some fool will drink him/herself blind then try and drive home, then have an accident with a good chance of killing someone. If people would have one beer or a glass of wine with a meal and leave it at that the laws would not be needed...
 
I think it needs to be .10 or .08 or whatever for everyone. In NJ at least, the legal limit for people under 21 is .01.

Also, if you are running above .01 and somebody else hits you and it's completely their fault, you should not be penalized.

The way it works now, if a person under 21 has so much of a sip of beer, which is probably enough to hit .01, but not enough to impair judgement whatsoever, then gets hit by a psychotic soccer mom talking on her cell phone, that person under 21 gets slammed for drunk driving, which is utter bullshit.

Is there some magic portion of the brain that gives you eight times as much alcohol tolerance that forms the day you turn 21?

Someone who is 20 with a BAC of .04 is exactly the same as someone who is 21 with a BAC of .04. Only difference is that one of them is four times the legal limit, and the other is only half the legal limit.

*Please note that I do not condone the use of alcohol while driving. I do not drink. I just think that it is very unfair for the people that do.
 
I'm not saying that drinking and driving is OK. I'm saying that double standards are not OK. If .01 is too much for someone under 21 to drive, it's too much for anyone to drive. If it isn't too much for someone under 21 to drive, then it shouldn't be the legal limit.
 
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