Impaired Driving
You’ve probably heard someone say “Don’t drive if you’ve had too much to drink!”. Seems like a pretty good thing to say, right? Well, if you think about it a bit more, that common warning really doesn’t make sense. Why? People have a really hard time judging their own level of intoxication. Ironically, intoxicated people are the worst judge of how drunk they really are, because the alcohol is impairing their judgment.
Also, a lot of things can cloud your judgment of your own impairment or exacerbate your level of impairment, even if you are at or below the “legal limit” to drive. For instance, if it’s really late at night and you’re tired, or if you haven’t eaten, or if you’ve consumed a caffeinated energy drink—all of these things can mask or compound your true level of impairment. So our best advice is to avoid any level of drinking and driving. Period. But how can you convey this message to your college student?
It’s important to have this conversation because college students are at high risk for impaired driving and car crashes for two main reasons. First, they have relatively little driving experience, and second, they tend to engage in a lot of risky activities related to drinking. National statistics show that 29% of college students between the ages of 18 and 24 drove under the influence of alcohol, and of the 8 million U.S. college students, 3 million rode with a drinking driver during the past year.
NOT driving after consuming ny amount of alcohol—or being the passenger in a car with a driver who consumed alcohol—is an important message for college students.4 The basic message is that whenever you get into a car, make sure the person behind the wheel has NOT been drinking—especially if it’s you! If they allude to driving at all when they go out, this is the time to flex your muscles as an adult family member. Drunk driving is a serious issue with life-threatening consequences, and you shouldn’t be scared to emphasize it.
Having conversations about impaired driving with your child will not only be germane to their college experience, but also help them learn how to be a safe driver for life.
Read the Rest of the ArticleImpaired Driving
You’ve probably heard someone say “Don’t drive if you’ve had too much to drink!”. Seems like a pretty good thing to say, right? Well, if you think about it a bit more, that common warning really doesn’t make sense. Why? People have a really hard time judging their own level of intoxication. Ironically, intoxicated people are the worst judge of how drunk they really are, because the alcohol is impairing their judgment.
Also, a lot of things can cloud your judgment of your own impairment or exacerbate your level of impairment, even if you are at or below the “legal limit” to drive. For instance, if it’s really late at night and you’re tired, or if you haven’t eaten, or if you’ve consumed a caffeinated energy drink—all of these things can mask or compound your true level of impairment. So our best advice is to avoid any level of drinking and driving. Period. But how can you convey this message to your college student?
It’s important to have this conversation because college students are at high risk for impaired driving and car crashes for two main reasons. First, they have relatively little driving experience, and second, they tend to engage in a lot of risky activities related to drinking. National statistics show that 29% of college students between the ages of 18 and 24 drove under the influence of alcohol, and of the 8 million U.S. college students, 3 million rode with a drinking driver during the past year.
NOT driving after consuming ny amount of alcohol—or being the passenger in a car with a driver who consumed alcohol—is an important message for college students.4 The basic message is that whenever you get into a car, make sure the person behind the wheel has NOT been drinking—especially if it’s you! If they allude to driving at all when they go out, this is the time to flex your muscles as an adult family member. Drunk driving is a serious issue with life-threatening consequences, and you shouldn’t be scared to emphasize it.
Having conversations about impaired driving with your child will not only be germane to their college experience, but also help them learn how to be a safe driver for life.
Read the Rest of the Article