QUESTIONS & ANSWERS: ALCOHOL — GENERAL

Liquid Devil

Faces Of Drunk Driving!
Every Face Tells A Story | Alcohol: Public Enemy #1 (Pastor Castle, MP3)

Ecclesiastes 7:17, “Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?”

1. What is drunk driving? This term is an inaccurate characterization of the problems caused by motorists who are impaired by alcohol. The first criminal laws targeting this problem prohibited "drunk driving," encouraging the notion that the problem was restricted to drivers who were visibly drunk. In fact, many alcohol-impaired drivers do not appear drunk in the traditional way. Research has shown that even small amounts of alcohol can impair the skills involved in driving, but the persistent notion that the problem is predominantly one of drunk drivers has allowed many drinking drivers to decide they are not part of the problem. For these reasons, the term "alcohol-impaired driving" is a more accurate and precise description of what is commonly referred to as drunk driving.

2. What does blood alcohol concentration (BAC) measure? A BAC describes the amount of alcohol in a person's blood, expressed as weight of alcohol per unit of volume of blood. For example, 0.08 percent BAC indicates 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. For most legal purposes, however, a blood sample is not necessary to determine a person's BAC. It can be measured more simply by analyzing exhaled breath.

3. What BAC is considered illegal? All 50 states and the District of Columbia have per se laws defining it as a crime to drive with a BAC at or above a proscribed level, 0.08 percent.

4. What is the effect of alcohol on driving skills and crash risk? At BACs as low as 0.02 percent, alcohol affects driving ability and crash likelihood. The probability of a crash begins to increase significantly at 0.05 percent BAC and climbs rapidly after about 0.08 percent. For drivers 35 and older with BACs at or above 0.15 percent on weekend nights, the likelihood of being killed in a single-vehicle crash is more than 380 times higher than for nondrinking drivers.1

5. How many drinks does it take to reach significantly impairing BACs? The effects of alcoholic drinks vary greatly because the rate of absorption and BACs attained vary from person to person due to factors such as weight, amount of fat tissue, and stomach contents. Nevertheless, various organizations have developed charts intended to help people estimate their BACs based on the number of drinks consumed. These tables can be used to estimate BACs, but they are subject to error.

6. Are beer and wine less impairing than hard liquor? Impairment is not determined by the type of drink but rather by the amount of alcohol ingested over a specific period of time. There is a similar amount of alcohol in such standard drinks as a 12-ounce glass of beer, a 4-ounce glass of wine, and 1.25 ounces of 80-proof liquor. Beer is the most common drink consumed by people stopped for alcohol-impaired driving or involved in alcohol-related crashes.2

7. What proportion of motor vehicle crashes involves alcohol? The most reliable information about alcohol involvement comes from fatal crashes. In 2004, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that 34 percent of all traffic deaths occurred in crashes in which at least one driver or non-occupant had a BAC at or above 0.08 percent and that some alcohol was present in 39 percent of all fatal crashes and all traffic fatalities.3 Such statistics do not mean that a third or more of all fatal crashes are caused solely by alcohol, because alcohol is only one of several factors that contribute to crashes involving drinking drivers. Furthermore, some fatally injured people in alcohol-related crashes are pedestrians with positive BACs, and these fatalities still would occur even if every driver were sober. Still, alcohol-impaired driving contributes to a significant proportion of fatal crashes.

Alcohol involvement is much lower in crashes involving nonfatal injuries and lower still in crashes that do not involve injuries at all. A study conducted during the 1960s estimated that 9 percent of drivers in injury crashes and 5 percent of drivers in noninjury crashes in Grand Rapids, Michigan, had BACs at or above 0.10 percent.4 A 1977 study found that 12 percent of drivers in injury crashes in Huntsville, Alabama, and San Diego, California, had BACs at or above 0.10 percent, compared with 1 percent of a sample of drivers not involved in crashes.5 According to a research review conducted during this same period, studies of fatally injured drivers found that 40-55 percent had BACs at or above 0.10 percent.6

8. How has the incidence of alcohol-impaired driving changed over time? The incidence of alcohol-impaired driving has been reduced but remains a major problem. NHTSA and the Institute undertook a national roadside breath survey in 1996, patterned after 1986 and 1973 surveys, and found that 83 percent of drivers had no measurable alcohol, a significant increase in nondrinking drivers above the rates of 74 percent in 1986 and 64 percent in 1973.7 In 1996, 7.7 percent of drivers had BACs at or above 0.05 percent, compared with 8.4 percent in 1986 and 13.7 percent in 1973. The proportion of drivers with BACs at or above 0.10 percent was 2.8 percent in 1996, 3.2 percent in 1986, and 5 percent in 1973.

9. Does alcohol-impaired driving differ by driver gender? Crashes among male drivers are much more likely to involve alcohol than those among female drivers. Among fatally injured male drivers of passenger vehicles in 2004, 38 percent had BACs at or above 0.08 percent. The corresponding proportion among female drivers was 18 percent. Alcohol involvement in fatal crashes was highest for males ages 21-40.

According to national roadside breath surveys, more females are driving at night. The proportion of females in weekend nighttime samples of drivers increased from 16 percent in 1973 to 26 percent in 1986 and 31 percent in 1996.7 The increase between 1973 and 1986 was accompanied by a reduction from 3.0 to 1.3 percent in the proportion of female drivers with BACs at or above 0.10 percent. However, between 1986 and 1996, the percentage of female drivers with high BACs increased slightly from 1.3 to 1.5 percent, compared with a decline from 3.9 to 3.5 percent for male drivers.

Between 1982 and 2004, the proportion of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs at or above 0.08 percent declined by 32 percent among males and 45 percent among females.

10. When do alcohol-impaired driving crashes occur? They happen at all hours, but alcohol involvement in crashes peaks at night and is higher on weekends than on weekdays. Among passenger vehicle drivers who were fatally injured between 9 pm and 6 am in 2004, 59 percent had BACs at or above 0.08 percent compared with 18 percent during other hours. Forty-four percent of all fatally injured drivers on weekends (6 pm Friday to 6 am Monday) in 2004 had BACs at or above 0.08 percent. At other times the proportion was 25 percent.

11. To whom does the term "hard-core drinking driver" refer? The term was coined to refer to people who repeatedly drive while impaired and are resistant to changing their behavior despite previous sanctions, treatments, or education. The underlying premise is that many, if not most, of these people are problem drinkers.8 The term is not precisely defined, although two criteria commonly used to identify hard-core drinking drivers are prior alcohol-impaired driving convictions and very high BACs (0.15 percent or higher).

12. Are most alcohol-impaired driving crashes caused by repeat offenders? No. It is true that people with prior convictions for driving while impaired by alcohol are overrepresented among drivers in fatal crashes. According to a federal study, drivers convicted of alcohol-impaired driving during the past 3 years are at least 1.8 times as likely to be in fatal crashes as drivers with no prior convictions during the same time period and are at least 4 times as likely to be in fatal crashes in which drivers have high BACs (0.10 percent or higher).9

However, in 2004 only 8 percent of drivers in fatal crashes with high BACs (0.08 percent or higher) had previous alcohol-impaired driving convictions on their records; only 1 percent had two or more convictions. The actual incidence of previous convictions could be higher, because information on convictions was available for only the prior 3 years. In addition, some alcohol offenses are not included on driver records because of court programs that allow drivers to remove or avoid a conviction if they attend educational programs. Still, most alcohol-impaired driving fatal crashes do not involve drivers with a long history of multiple alcohol convictions.

13. Is the problem of alcohol-impaired driving limited to people with very high BACs? No. Among passenger vehicle drivers with illegal BACs (0.08 percent or higher) who died in crashes in 2004, 27 percent had BACs lower than 0.15 percent.

14. Have hard-core drinking drivers been unaffected by countermeasures directed at all drivers? No. It often is suggested that alcohol-impaired driving crashes are increasingly caused by people with very high BACs and repeat offenders. However, between 1982 and 2002, all categories of illegal BACs declined among fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers. Percentage point declines were similar across BACs of 0.08-0.14 percent, 0.15-0.19 percent, 0.20-0.24 percent, and 0.25 percent and higher.10 Similarly, among drivers in fatal crashes with BACs at or above 0.08 percent, the proportion with alcohol convictions during the previous 3 years declined during the past decade from 11 percent in 1994 to 8 percent in 2004. These statistics do not support the claims that hard-core drinking drivers have become a larger part of the problem or that they have been unaffected by countermeasures directed at all drivers. 


References

1Zador, P.L.; Krawchuk, S.A.; and Voas, R.B. 2000. Alcohol-related relative risk of driver fatalities and driver involvement in fatal crashes in relation to driver age and gender: an update using 1996 data. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 61:387-95.

2Smart, R.G. 1996. Behavioral and social consequences related to the consumption of different beverage types. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 57:77-84.

3National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 2005. Traffic safety facts, 2004: alcohol. Report no. DOT HS-809-905. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation.

4Borkenstein, R.F.; Crowther, R.F.; Shumate, R.P.; Ziel, W.B.; and Zylman, R. 1964. The role of the drinking driver in traffic accidents. Bloomington, Indiana: Department of Police Administration, Indiana University.

5Farris, R.; Malone, T.B.; and Kirkpatrick, M. 1977. A comparison of alcohol involvement in exposed and injured drivers. Report no. DOT HS-400-954. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

6Jones, R.K. and Lacey, J.H. Alcohol and highway safety 2001: a review of the state of knowledge. Report no. DOT HS-809-383. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

7Voas, R.B.; Wells, J.K.; Lestina, D.; Williams, A.F.; and Greene, M. 1998. Drinking and driving in the United States: the 1996 national roadside survey. Accident Analysis and Prevention 30:267-75.

8Simpson, H.M. and Mayhew, D.R. 1991. The hard core drinking driver. Ottawa, Ontario: Traffic Injury Research Foundation.

9Fell, J.C. 1991. Repeat DWI offenders: their involvement in fatal crashes. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

10McCartt, A.T. and Williams, A.F. 2004. Characteristics of fatally injured drivers with high blood alcohol concentrations (BACs). Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety (CD-ROM). Edinburgh, Scotland: Scottish Executive.

SOURCE


Faces Of Drunk Driving!

Every Face Tells A Story


Teens Drink One-Fifth of U.S. Alcohol!

Flying and Alcohol

Beer Soaks America (exposing the lying propaganda of the beer industry)

The above picture speaks 1,000 words. The beer industry hypocritically tells teens not to drink alcohol until they are 21, while those same companies saturate American culture with booze, booze, booze! Consequently, underaged drinking is an epidemic problem in America!


“I've stood for more sneers and scoffs and insults and had my life threatened from one end of the land to the other by this God-forsaken gang of thugs and cutthroats because I have come out uncompromisingly against them.” —Billy Sunday

Alcohol Kills!

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Hear Billy Sunday's "Booze Kills!" (MP3)

Hear Billy Sunday on Prohibition (MP3)

The Salvation of a Nation (by Pastor Jack Hyles)

Jesus and Wine (No, Jesus did NOT make alcoholic wine!)

Watch Billy Sunday preach! | More Sermons by Billy Sunday

Alcohol is the Most Dangerous Drug! | God is Against Alcohol, Period!

The Truth About Booze — Part 1 | The Truth About Booze — Part 2 (Pastor Jeff Owens)

Click to hear the needful MP3 sermon, Alcohol Public Enemy #1 (by Pastor Danny Castle)
Download MP3 Sermon | Download MP3 with gospel singing before sermon

Anti-Saloon League Quitters!

Watch Billy Sunday preach!

More Sermons by Billy Sunday


“I tell you that the curse of God Almighty is on the saloon.” —Billy Sunday


Jacqueline Saburido (pictured above)

Teens Drink One-Fifth of U.S. Alcohol!

Flying and Alcohol

Beer Soaks America (exposing the lying propaganda of the beer industry)

The above picture speaks 1,000 words. The beer industry hypocritically tells teens not to drink alcohol until they are 21, while those same companies saturate American culture with booze, booze, booze! Consequently, underaged drinking is an epidemic problem in America!


Scriptures Condemning Drinking Strong Drink...

Judges 13:4, “Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing.”

1st Samuel 1:15, “And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.”

Proverb:20:1, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”

Proverb 31:4, “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink.”

Isaiah 5:22, “Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink.”

Isaiah 24:9, “They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.”

Isaiah 28:7, “But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.”


“I've stood for more sneers and scoffs and insults and had my life threatened from one end of the land to the other by this God-forsaken gang of thugs and cutthroats because I have come out uncompromisingly against them.” —Billy Sunday

Alcohol Kills!

skelton.gif (13232 bytes)

Beer kills!

"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." —Proverb 20:1

The Madness Of MADD!

How 2 Go 2 Heaven

Only one life 'twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last.

Ye Must Be Born Again!

God is Against Alcohol, Period!

Jacqueline Saburido (pictured above)


“I tell you that the curse of God Almighty is on the saloon.”
—Billy Sunday

Billy Sunday (1862-1935)


Beer is for fools!!!

"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." ~Proverb 20:1

Watch Billy Sunday preach!

More Sermons by Billy Sunday

Anti-Saloon League Quitters!

Hear Billy Sunday's "Booze Kills!" (MP3)

Hear Billy Sunday on Prohibition (MP3)

The Truth About Booze- part 1 (Pastor Jeff Owens)

The Truth About Booze- part 2 (Pastor Jeff Owens)

The Salvation of a Nation (by Pastor Jack Hyles)

Alcohol Kills!

skelton.gif (13232 bytes)

The Occult Roots of AA (Alcoholic's Anonymous)

Here's a Christian alternative to Alcoholics Anonymous...

Founded in 1948, Alcoholics Victorious support groups offer a safe environment where recovering people who recognize Jesus Christ as their "Higher Power" gather together and share their experience, strength and hope. AV meetings use both the 12 Steps and the Alcoholics Victorious Creed

There is Hope!

Jacqueline Saburido
(pictured above)

“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” —Proverb 20:1

Alcohol tastes and feels good, but is rotten to the core!

G.A.D.D.
GOD AGAINST DRUNK DRIVERS!

“Whiskey and beer are all right in their place, but their place is in hell.” —Billy Sunday

“The man who votes for the saloon is pulling on the same rope with the devil, whether he knows it or not.” —Billy Sunday

Teens Drink One-Fifth of U.S. Alcohol!

Flying And Alcohol

Beer Soaks America
(exposing the lying propaganda of the beer industry)


Ye Must Be Born Again!