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| New research finds that blood-alcohol levels well below the U.S. legal limit are associated with incapacitating injury and death. |
ScienceDaily (June 20, 2011) — In the United States, the blood-alcohol limit may be 0.08 percent, but no amount of alcohol seems to be safe for driving, according to a University of California, San Diego sociologist. A study led by David Phillips and published in the journal Addiction finds that blood-alcohol levels well below the U.S. legal limit are associated with incapacitating injury and death.
All the accidents included in FARS are, by definition, severe. But the authors looked at different levels of accident severity by examining the ratio of severe injuries to minor ones.
"Accidents are 36.6 percent more severe even when alcohol was barely detectable in a driver's blood," Phillips said. Even with a BAC of 0.01, Phillips and Brewer write, there are 4.33 serious injuries for every non-serious injury versus 3.17 for sober drivers.
There are at least three mechanisms that help to explain this finding, Phillips said: "Compared with sober drivers, buzzed drivers are more likely to speed, more likely to be improperly seat-belted and more likely to drive the striking vehicle, all of which are associated with greater severity."
There also seems to be a strong "dose-response" relationship between all these factors, the authors write: The greater the blood-alcohol content, the greater the average speed of the driver and the greater the severity of the accident, for example.
The findings persist even when such potentially confounding variables as inattention and fatigue are excluded from the analysis.
In general, accident severity is significantly higher on weekends, between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. and in the summer months, June through August. But when the researchers standardized for day of the week, for time of day and for month, the relationship between BAC and more dangerous car accidents also persisted.
"Up till now, BAC limits have been determined not only by rational considerations and by empirical findings but also by political and cultural factors," Phillips said, citing as evidence that the U.S. national standard of 0.08 is relatively recent and that BAC limits vary greatly by country. In Germany, the limit is 0.05; in Japan, 0.03; and in Sweden, 0.02.
"We hope that our study might influence not only U.S. legislators, but also foreign legislators, in providing empirical evidence for lowering the legal BAC even more," Phillips said. "Doing so is very likely to reduce incapacitating injuries and to save lives."
ScienceDaily (June 20, 2011) — In the United States, the blood-alcohol limit may be 0.08 percent, but no amount of alcohol seems to be safe for driving, according to a University of California, San Diego sociologist. A study led by David Phillips and published in the journal Addiction finds that blood-alcohol levels well below the U.S. legal limit are associated with incapacitating injury and death.
Reflections:
I feel that drink driving should be stictly prohibited, regardless of how much alcohol a person has in their bodies, whether it is 0.01 percent or 0.08 percent. As this study had pointed out, no amount of alcohol is safe to drive and accidents are always more prone to occur when a person has alcohol is thier body, regardless of the dose. As the does gets higher, the proneness of an accident just gets even higher. 1,495,667 people in the years 1994 to 2008 were involved in such drink driving car accidents and they prove to be the ignorant sort. I fell that more people are not cherishing their lives and getting over confident about themselves, for example, they will try to boost their drivin skills by saying that they could still drive properly though having more than 0.08 percent of alcohol in their blood. Now, studies have found that even 0.1 percent of alcohol can affect thinking and decision makings. As you see, buzzed drivers are more likely to speed, more likely to be improperly seat-belted and more likely to drive the striking vehicle and the greater the blood-alcohol content, the greater the average speed of the driver and the greater the severity of the accident. In more developed countries like Sweden, their permitted alcohol limit is 0.02 percent, this shows the quality of law-enforcement and safety regulations in more developed countries. Even Singapore, a very developed country has an alcohol range is 0.8 percent. I fell that Singapore should not follow countries like American, instead countries like Japan and Sweden. Even better, Singapore should set a o percent alcohol range for drivers as reports have already shown that even 0.1 percent of alcohol could cause accidents. Drink-Drivers should also be severely punished. Below is a video about what will happen when drunk pilots fly a plane:
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