Everybody knows that it is dangerous, illegal and downright stupid to drive when you have been drinking alcohol, but do you really know the reasons why? The fact is that a relatively small amount of alcohol can have a significant difference on your driving ability and some drivers don’t even have to drink more than the legal requirements in order for the effects to take place.
Alcohol affects your driving ability in a number of different ways . . . read on and find out more . . .
The Ability to Concentrate and Multi Task
When you are driving you need to have your wits about you and concentrate on a variety of different things. You’ve got to steer the car while keeping an eye out for cyclists, pedestrians, animals and other potential obstacles. It is important that you can focus and concentrate on more than one task at a time. Unfortunately after drinking alcohol this ability will be seriously impaired, this means that you could easily miss something important which is happening around you and can lead to an accident.
Alcohol Causes Vision Impairment
When you drink alcohol it reduces your ability to see things clearly, another vital aspect of safe driving, particularly when it is dark. You have to have good, clear vision to judge the position and speeds of other vehicles, you may also need to keep shifting your gaze and refocusing on changing objects quickly . . . this is also more difficult after you have been drinking alcohol.
Alcohol Causes Reduced Reaction Times
Your reaction times are severely affected after drinking alcohol . . . this is the time between noticing some sort of hazard or object and reacting to it. This is one of the major reasons for accidents when alcohol is involved. After drinking alcohol your ability to assess a situation is severely impaired, it is more difficult to make quick decisions . . . the right quick decisions that is. When you are confronted with a hazardous situation this can be extremely dangerous.
Alcohol Impairs Perception
The way you read situations is also severely impaired when you have been drinking alcohol. In plain terms it affects the ability to perceive certain hazards as to assess those situations correctly. If you fail to notice these dangerous situations, or actually perceive them as potentially dangerous this can also lead to accidents.
Alcohol Impairs The Ability to Track
Tracking is all about keeping your own vehicle in the right lane . . . which is why people who have been drinking alcohol may veer across all lanes of the highway. It is extremely dangerous to keep drifting from your own lane, particularly in difficult driving conditions. Rain, high winds, snow and ice can all be a major contributing factor in both head on collisions and side collisions.
So now you know exactly why it is dangerous, fool hardy and illegal to drive if you have been drinking even a relatively small amount of alcohol.
Do yourself a favor. Keep a clear head and take a look at www.ocfiat.com where they’ve got a brilliant selection of both new and used cars for sale. If you want to take a test drive then go along and book one but please, remember about how and why alcohol affects your ability to drive safely. It’s not only your life which is at stake, it is the lives of every person who is unlucky enough to be in the same part of the world as you. Check out the vehicles at http://www.ocfiat.com.