Everyone knows that drinking and driving is dangerous, with the potential for extremely tragic consequences. But have you considered how an elevated blood alcohol concentration (BAC) actually affects the way that you drive?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, even a small amount of alcohol in your system can have an effect on your driving. Here’s how your driving is affected by your BAC levels (each level also incorporates the effects of the lower levels):
- .02%. At this BAC level, you may experience decline in your visual function and also in your ability to perform more than one task at a time.
- .05%. At this BAC level, you’ll begin experiencing reduced coordination. Your ability to track moving objects is also affected, and you’ll have more difficulty in steering. As well, your response to emergency driving situations is also affected.
- .08%. This is the current legal limit in California. At this level, your concentration, speed control, perception and information processing capability will be affected, and you may also experience short-term memory loss.
- .10%. At this BAC level, it’s predicted that you’ll experience problems staying in your lane and your braking response time will likely be affected.
- .15%. At this BAC level, you’ll experience substantial impairment in your driving.
As you can see from this list of the effects of BAC on the ability to drive, even one drink can have potentially serious consequences.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a Los Angeles motor vehicle accident involving a drunk driver, Bradley I. Kramer and his experienced legal team are here to help you obtain the compensation to which you are entitled. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.