by Lisa Frederiksen
December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Awareness Month and the statistics surrounding drunk and drugged driving are staggering. Here a just a few:
- Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes kill someone every 31 minutes and non-fatally injure someone every two minutes (NHTSA 2006).
- During 2005, 16,885 people in the U.S. died in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes, representing 39% of all traffic-related deaths (NHTSA 2006).
- In 2005, nearly 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics (Department of Justice 2005). That’s less than one percent of the 159 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year (Quinlan et al. 2005). (1)
These statistics show there’s a lot still to be done, and while the obvious answer is “Don’t Drink and Drive,” the less obvious is what makes someone think they can still drive after having several drinks and how can that be avoided? In my opinion, it’s staying within the drinking limits that allow you to still think clearly and make wise choices — not only choices about whether to drink and drive but about what you say and do.
As for drinking limits? The NIAAA defines [ongoing] alcohol use that’s not likely to cause problems as:
- no more than 3 drinks in a day AND no more than 7 in a week for women
- no more than 4 drinks in a day AND no more than 14 drinks in a week for men.
So if a woman has three drinks at an event, for example, she may only have 4 more drinks that week in order to stay within these recommended limits. Of course, these “safe” limits can vary by size, weight, health, age, height, etc. of the individual. [Note: these limits also differ from USDA's recommendations of one drink/day for women and two for men, but that's another post.]
So how do you stay within safe drinking limits?
- Understand what constitutes “A” drink. You’ve heard it before and have read it in many articles but have you tried to measure it and see what it looks like? “A” drink of wine is 5 ounces; “A” drink of beer is 12 ounces; and “A” drink of spirits (vodka, gin, scotch) is 1.5 ounces. This means that drinks poured and consumed at bars and holiday parties often contain more than one drink as follows:
- a margarita = 3-4 drinks
- a martini = 2-3 drinks
- a scotch on the rocks = 2 drinks
- a standard bottle of table wine = 5 drinks.
- Know your glasses. What I mean here is understand that various homes, restaurants and holiday party locations will have different types of glasses, which means a glass of wine, for example, can have far more than just “A” drink of alcohol, depending on the type of glass that’s being used. This is another reason to actually measure out 5 ounces or 12 ounces or 1.5 ounces in various, common glass shapes, so that you have a clear visual of what “A” drink looks like.
- Don’t let them refill. When you’re at holiday parties, it’s easy to loose track if a waiter is constantly refilling your glass. Don’t let them until you’ve completely finished your original drink. That way you will know when you’ve had your limit.
- Alcohol interacts with medications. Just a reminder that alcohol and prescription drugs and some over-the-counter medications do not mix – be sure to read the label and heed the warning.
- It takes at least one hour. Again, depending on age, health, weight, metabolism, height, etc., it “typically” takes one hour for the body to process one drink. So for every drink, it takes the body at least one, alcohol-free hour to rid itself of the alcohol in that one drink (two drinks, two alcohol-free hours, and so on).
All of this said, please know it’s not meant as a formula for how to drink and drive. Impairment begins with the first drink. Rather, it’s shared in hopes that understanding what constitutes a drink and how easy it is to over-drink can help all of us make wise decisions [such as sticking with the plan to designate a non-drinking driver and only driving home with that person] in order to be safe on the road and in the many other social settings where drinking can compromise one’s judgment, decisions and behaviors.
Here’s to happy and safe holidays!
(1) Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/drving.htm
