New Campaign Seeks to Educate the Public on Drunk Driving Facts
A new survey estimates that as many as three-fourths of American adults
think they know enough about how drinking affects their blood alcohol
levels, while in fact, most don't even know the legal limits in their
own state. The Century Council, a group backed by major distillers, is
campaigning to better educate the public about those limits and how much
you have to drink to exceed them.
The group is an interactive program designed to educate users on blood-alcohol
concentrations based on their weight and gender and the number and types
of drinks they consume. It also factors in elapsed time, how quickly
someone is drinking and how much food the individual has eaten.
"Our research indicates about 20 percent of Americans will drink a little more
than usual at the holiday time, so as a result I think that it creates an additional
incentive for distillers, as responsible companies, to go out and educate those
people who may be enjoying the holiday celebrations more than they're used to," Century
Council president Ralph Blackman said.
The council cites federal statistics showing that 1,708 people died
in alcohol-related crashes last year between Thanksgiving and New Year’s
Day.
Blackman said people often don't realize just how fast their blood alcohol
concentration goes up, and how long it takes before it returns to normal.
The program, the council hopes, will help drinkers face the facts and,
very importantly, it hopes to help save lives this holiday season. As
Blackman explains, "What we say is, ‘Well, you've just gotten the
information you need to make a responsible decision and the responsible
decision is not drinking up to the legal limit. The responsible decision
is deciding when you've drunk enough and you are not impaired and therefore
not a danger behind the wheel."
Important Findings:
The Century Council's November survey data were collected by telephone
interviews of 1001 adults, 18 years or older, in the contiguous United
States. Another sample polled 364 adults living in eight states.
**77%said they had enough information about drinking and driving and
how drinking affects their blood alcohol level
**72% didn't know the blood alcohol limit in their state
**The average respondent thought .33% was the limit in his or her state,
which is actually four times the national standard of .08%
**17% know that 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine and drinks with
1.5 ounces of distilled spirits all have the same impact on a person’s
blood alcohol levels
Source: JoinTogether.org |
