We all know that driving while being under the influence of alcohol is, besides being a serious crime, quite a dangerous practice, one that can lead to causing a fatal accident. Regardless of the many campaigns and programs offered to reduce the number of car accidents related to drunk driving, and in order to discourage drivers from sitting behind the while after having drunk alcoholic beverages, this problem continues to be a challenge for towns and cities around the world. That’s why we decided to share several ways in which alcohol impairs your driving skills, even after only a couple of drinks.
Reaction Time
One of the most dangerous effects of alcohol is that it reduces our reaction time significantly, which can be particularly risky when driving under the influence. This increases our chances of causing a serious accident since our brain simply takes longer to process what happens around us. So, if the car in front of us stops suddenly, or if a pedestrian is crossing the street, we might not have enough time to react, making it harder for us to prevent an accident.
Coordination
Another way that alcohol impairs our driving skills is by affecting our motor skills, including our eye-hand-foot coordination. This can make it really difficult for us to drive properly and safely. It can even make it impossible for us to even get inside of our car and drive ourselves home. Without coordination, we won’t be able to keep a straight line when behind the wheel. After a couple of drinks, we will find ourselves driving more recklessly, and we will not be able to stay safe.
Concentration
Regardless of the amount of alcohol that we drink, it will definitely have a negative impact on how much we concentrate on the road. Being under the influence of alcohol is enough to make us shift our focus from the road to something else. When we are driving, we must give our undivided attention to the road, the speed limit, the distance between our car and other driver’s cars, all of this in order to avoid causing an accident.
Vision
One of the most important senses we need when driving is our vision, and having an impaired vision while driving will undoubtedly make us cause an accident. After drinking alcohol, we might have more difficulties with controlling our eye movement and judging the distance between other cars and our own. Also, we might fail to see a traffic light and hit another car at full speed. This combination is more than enough to result responsible for a tragedy.
Judgment
Our judgment skills are essential when making decisions, as our brain evaluates a given situation and reacts based on that. However, when we drive under the influence of alcohol, our judgment gets inhibited, which results in poor and risky decision making. This means that we could feel more courage to drive in a way on which we wouldn’t if we were sober, becoming exposed to dangerous scenarios that are likely to end up with us causing an accident.