6 Good Reasons Why You Should Never Drive Under the Influence of Alcohol

Drunk driving causes thousands of deaths every year in the United States. Driving under the influence of alcohol is hazardous and increases the chances of road accidents. The regulations against drunk driving have always been strict, with penalties ranging from heavy fines to even imprisonments in extreme cases. In the United States of America, if the alcohol content in your blood is found to be 0.8% or more, you’ll be considered legally intoxicated. Driving a vehicle in such an impaired state is bound to cause road accidents and even loss of lives. If you don’t already know why drunk driving is dangerous for you as well as the others around you, here’s a list of 6 good reasons why you should never drive under the influence of alcohol.

1.  Impaired Vision

Consuming alcohol affects our bodies in various ways. If you’re a heavy drinker, the effects are more severe and permanent and you should be aware that alcohol can impair your eye muscle coordination and blur your vision. It also affects the neurotransmitters in your brain, making you feel drowsy. Being a depressant, alcohol slows down your reaction time and distorts the eyesight. Drinking profusely can also make your eyelids twitch. When you consume alcohol, the iris takes longer to contract which can make it difficult for you to see when bright lights fall on your eyes. Being drunk can reduce your peripheral vision and also make it harder for you to notice obstacles on the road.

2.  Lack of Coordination

You might have noticed drunk people having trouble walking in a straight line or speaking clearly. This happens because alcohol has a temporary disorienting effect on your body’s physiological systems. To safely drive a vehicle, the driver needs to have proper coordination between their eyes, hands, and legs. Our eyes signal our brain about obstacles on the road, which then instructs our hands and legs to act accordingly. In a state of intoxication, this ability takes a hit and the chances of an accident increase enormously.

3.  Heightened Emotions

Alcohol increases the heart rate of the consumer, making them pumped up with emotions. Too much alcohol can induce excessive aggression and can be severely harmful if the intoxicated individual is driving a vehicle. If you’ve been involved in an accident due to an intoxicated driver, you should consult an accident lawyer to help you get compensated for your losses. Alcohol makes people emotionally unstable and leads them to make rash decisions. To safely operate a vehicle, a driver must stay calm and composed in all situations.

4.  Reduced Concentration

Handling a vehicle with safety requires concentration. You never know if there’s another vehicle approaching from around the curve in the road so you must avoid the consumption of alcohol, as it is known to disrupt concentration. Driving requires the driver to be aware of their surroundings and you must have your utmost focus on the road ahead. If you’re intoxicated with alcohol, your attention span and awareness levels are dramatically reduced. That said, if your attention is diverted towards multiple tasks, the chances of an accident are high.

5.  Clouded Judgement

To perfectly judge the distance between two vehicles and the speed of the other cars on the road, the driver must stay sharp and have a clear mind. If the vehicle in front of your car applies brakes suddenly or a pedestrian is crossing the road, you must be ready to slow down your car in response. Being drunk can cloud your judgment tremendously. It can be dangerous not only for you but for the people traveling with you and others on the road as well.

6.  Slower Reactions

Driving requires quick responses to the situations that present themselves. The faster the vehicle, the quicker the response time is required. When you’re driving at night, the reaction time required to avoid danger is further reduced. If you’re intoxicated, you might not be able to react to an obstruction in time. Even a split-second of carelessness can cost you your life, or worse, the life of someone else.

The effects of alcohol on our bodies are adverse and harmful, both in the long term as well as short term. Consuming alcohol impairs your vision, causes a lack of coordination, makes you emotionally unstable, reduces your attention span, clouds your judgment, and slows down your reaction abilities. Apart from that, you can get imprisoned, attract a criminal record, or lose your job if you’re caught driving a vehicle in an intoxicated state. Driving under the influence of alcohol is dangerous and must be avoided at all costs.