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6. Smashed: A Sober Look at Drinking and Driving

Smashed: A Sober Look at Drinking and Driving

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TP 1535E
1999, revised 2009

• Impaired Driving: Still a Problem
• Good news, bad news
• Steve & Jenny's Story
• Over the limit
• What was I thinking?
• "I'm fine officer - really."
  • Table 1 - Provincial/Territorial Penalties for Impaired Driving Offences
  • Table 2 - Criminal Code Penalties For Impaired Driving Offences
• Drugs & driving don't mix
• The truly thoughtful host
• Quiz

Impaired Driving: Still a Problem

Impaired driving remains a significant road safety, health and economic issue in Canada. Through the 1970s and 1980s significant progress was made in reducing the numbers of drivers on the roads who had been drinking. However, since the mid 1990s, there has been very limited progress made in reducing the carnage on our roads.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, all levels of government have been working together on impaired driving through the Strategy to Reduce Impaired Driving (STRID) of the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA). Governments are continuing to strengthen policies and programs to address impaired driving with medical assessment and treatment, alcohol ignition interlocks, administrative licence suspensions and vehicle impoundment. The Criminal Code of Canada has been amended to increase the penalties under the Criminal Code, streamline the law and authorize the use of Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) to deal with drug impairment.

However, more work needs to be done, including looking at other impairing factors such as examining fatigue and distraction. Legislative options include the use of random breath tests, mandatory testing after a serious collision and how best to deal with low-level Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) drivers. Possible improvements in alcohol ignition interlock programs include increasing their use and the development of the next generation of devices, which operate passively.

Maintaining and supporting enforcement efforts by our police partners is a key requirement to remind drivers of all ages of the serious criminal, financial and injury risks an impaired driver faces.

In the end, the decision to drink and drive or not is a personal decision. All drivers need to consider their behaviour and how to best protect themselves, their family and friends and other road users who depend on them to make a safe decision.

Good news, bad news

Do we still need to talk about drinking and driving? After all, attitudes have changed a lot in the last 30 years. Back in the 1970s, Canadians often got behind the wheel after "having a few," while their friends looked on and laughed.

For many of us, that sort of thinking is as outdated as tape players.

Why? Because in the 1980s, governments passed strict new laws and police forces tried harder to reduce drinking and driving. As a result, people became very aware of the dangers of drinking and driving. The number of impaired drivers pulled over at roadside checkpoints dropped. So did the number of impaired drivers killed in crashes.

But while this success is good, it is not enough. Canadians make over 7.4 million trips a year-any one of which could result in a crash. In 2007, roughly 1.84 million Canadians reported that they had driven when they felt they were over the legal limit. In fact, about one-third of all Canadian drivers killed in car crashes had been drinking.

And impaired drivers are not the only ones who suffer. Over 1,000 Canadians-impaired and sober-die each year in alcohol-related crashes. In total, these crashes cost Canadians over $10.6 billion a year in lost wages, property damage and health-care costs.

These numbers are too high, and aren't dropping.

While public safety campaigns have raised awareness of the risks of drinking and driving, these days, many impaired drivers are "hard-core": people who often drink a lot and then get behind the wheel.

We must keep reminding Canadians that drinking and driving don't mix. In the future, we may need to find new ways to get hardcore drinkers to change.

Percent of Fatally Injured Drivers with Positive Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) *

*The graph above on alcohol use by drivers fatally injured in motor vehicle crashes in Canada is compiled and maintained by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation under sponsorship from the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators and Transport Canada.

Steve & Jenny's Story

On July 18, 2004, Steve, age 29, and Jenny, age 26, were driving home from a friend's wedding reception. Married for less than two years, their lives were filled with many hopes, dreams and plans. For example, they had just bought and moved into their first house and their artistic careers were beginning to flourish.

Steve was the designated driver. Steve and Jenny always took turns... because they are responsible… because they care about road safety and the well-being of other people.

They turned a corner and suddenly, the headlights of an impaired driver's car swerved into their lane. What happened next was a violent, painful and terrifying crime.

After the crash, Jenny somehow managed to kick open her door, but then collapsed, calling out for her husband. Steve had glass in his eyes and couldn't see. He was trapped and confused, but kept saying his wife's name. Rescuers arrived and, while both Steve and Jenny tried hard to stay conscious, they were placed into two separate ambulances. As they called out for one another, the shock, fear and pain were unbearable. Were they going to the same hospital? Would they survive?

IN THE AFTERMATH...
It is a miracle that Steve and Jenny Kulikowsky survived that 2004 car crash. One man's decision to drive while impaired has changed their lives forever. The past four years have been long and hard for this young couple, and each painful step forward brings no promise that the hopes, dreams and plans they once had will ever be within reach.

Steve needed four blood transfusions during his first week in the hospital. He has had seven surgeries (and counting), gets painful shots in his neck every week, and spends most of his days going to and from rehab and doctor appointments. Steve suffers from severe tremors and intense pain on his left side, including the left hand that used to earn him a living. He still has problems walking and even the easiest activities can be exhausting.

Doctors and other medical experts have not been able to fully measure the extent of Steve's injuries. They don't know if he will ever be able to return to work. Steve is only in his 30s and yet he feels like an old man. He feels guilty because he can't help Jenny pay the bills, he is upset that his body is still so broken, and he is afraid that he may never fully recover.

In the crash, Jenny suffered broken ribs, nerve damage to her left side and face, as well as a brain injury. Although she did return to work, she still lives with pain. Her rehab and medical appointments are ongoing. Balancing her own healing process with working and caring for her husband has been very hard.

As a loving wife, it break's Jenny's heart that she can't do anything to ease Steve's constant pain and suffering. She knows that for Steve, being an artist with no means to express himself is devastating. Her responsibilities take up so much of her energy that she has less creative inspiration as an artist than before the crash.

Through all this, Steve and Jenny are very grateful to have a close family, good friends and each other. One day at a time, they focus on staying strong and are working hard to find happiness again.

Over the limit

Far too often the newspaper reports that "The autopsy showed the driver had a blood alcohol concentration of .16, double the legal limit." Do you know what the number means?

As blood flows through the body, it releases alcohol into the lungs in proportion to its concentration in the blood. Police officers often use a breathalyzer to measure Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC).

BAC refers to how much alcohol is in someone's blood. While under Canadian law, a driver is not over the legal limit until he or she has reached a BAC of more than 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood (commonly expressed as .08 mg or .08). You may be impaired at lower levels. Impaired means your ability to drive is significantly affected by drugs or alcohol.

As you drink, your BAC goes up. If you are caught driving impaired and/or over the legal limit, you will face many problems.

WHAT IS "A DRINK"?
Wine, beer and spirits each have different concentrations of alcohol. Most beers contain 5 per cent alcohol, while wines contain 11 to 12 per cent. Spirits-such as vodka or rye-contain 40 per cent or more.

As a rough guide, a 341mL (12 oz.) bottle of beer, a 148mL (5 oz.) glass of wine or a 44mL (1.5 oz.) shot of spirits usually contains the same amount of alcohol-about 13.5 grams. These amounts are often called "standard servings." However, it is easy to drink more than you realize. How?

• If you are drinking draft beer rather than bottled beer, you may order a pint-which may be up to 50 per cent bigger than a standard serving.
• You may drink half a bottle of wine by refilling a large glass twice. If you do, you have had two-and-a-half standard servings.
• If you don't use a shot glass when making a mixed drink, you may drink more than you intend.
• Alcohol concentrations vary among brands and types of drinks. For instance, some light beers contain less than 5 per cent alcohol, while others may contain more.

As you can see, defining "a drink" is not simple.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE ALCOHOL?
No matter what size drink you have, your bloodstream will spread it throughout your whole body in 30 to 90 minutes.

The alcohol then moves to your liver, which breaks over 90 per cent of it down into carbon dioxide and water. The rest passes, unchanged, out of your body.

All of this takes about two hours for one standard serving. Any other alcohol you drink during that time will stay in your blood until your liver can deal with it, so your BAC rises quickly to a peak. If you stop drinking, your BAC will slowly start to drop-but it will most likely take much longer to fall than it did to rise.

YOU ARE SPECIAL
Did you know that your body type affects how much blood you have? It is true. The lighter you are, the less blood you have. So if you weigh 68 kg (150 lb.) and you drink as much alcohol as someone of the same sex who weighs 80 kg (175 lb.), you will have a higher BAC.

It is also true that muscle tissue contains more blood while fatty tissue contains more water. So if you have a lot of body fat and you drink as much alcohol as someone of the same sex who is muscular, your BAC will be higher. Why? Because there is less blood for the alcohol to mix with, the ratio of alcohol to blood is higher.

Since women tend to be smaller than men and have more fatty tissue, a woman who drinks as much alcohol as a man usually has a higher BAC-often much higher.

TIME IS ON YOUR SIDE
You may have heard that you can keep your BAC under the legal limit by drinking no more than one standard drink per hour. This rule only works for a couple of hours and mainly for men. A better plan is to have no more than two standard drinks in an evening.

Maybe you have heard that you can sober up faster by dancing, jogging, peeing, taking a shower or drinking water or black coffee. Don't believe it! The only thing that will really lower your BAC is time. If you are over the legal limit, it will take about six hours for your body to get rid of all the alcohol.

So, what's the bottom line? If you drink, don't drive.

What was I thinking?

What we eat or drink can affect us in different ways at different times. Sometimes you can drink coffee late at night and sleep like a baby; another night, half a cup at dinner will keep you awake until three in the morning. Perhaps your friends can eat bowls of spicy chili with no ill effects, while even a small taste gives you heartburn.

It is the same with alcohol. It is hard to know how a certain amount of alcohol will affect you, even if it is the same amount you usually drink. A pint may hit you harder if you are tired, or if you drink it at lunchtime rather than after dinner. Your health and your mood also play a role in the way alcohol changes the way you behave, what you see and how quickly you react. Even where you are can change things: after one or two drinks, you are probably more likely to do something silly when you are with old friends than if you are at a business dinner.

Even if they vary by degree, the effects of drinking almost always include your system slowing down-including the nerves that control your muscles. And, as any bartender can tell you, drinking can make some people angry, sad or worried.

Regular drinkers often learn to hide some of the obvious signs of alcohol use. But while you can sometimes fool your friends and even yourself, you can't trick your body.

THE EFFECTS CAN BE FATAL
As the level of alcohol in your blood rises, its effects follow a pattern. The first drink often relaxes you, but less pleasant effects are also happening at the same time.

The first thing you might notice is that it will get harder to do things that involve accuracy and making quick decisions. (Have you ever tried to play a video game after a beer?)

As the evening goes on, your thinking slows down. You may find it harder to keep the facts of a movie straight or do several things at once.

Drink a bit more, and you may not be able to focus when talking with people and even simple actions like changing a CD or moving through a crowd can be hard.

If you continue to drink, your movements will be sloppy, your words slurred, your balance off and your reactions slow. You may find it hard to focus your eyes. Rather than feeling cheerful, as you did early in the evening, you may find yourself crying.

Take another drink-or more-and you risk falling into a coma. If the coma isn't treated within 10 hours, you could die. Once the alcohol in your system reaches .25, you may die of alcohol poisoning; if it reaches .4, you almost certainly will.

IMPAIRMENT BEHIND THE WHEEL
Let's say, however, that you've had only a few drinks and you think that you can drive home because it is only a 10-minute drive on back streets. This can be very risky because driving a car requires almost all of your basic skills-everything from judgment to hand-eye coordination-and drinking affects them all.

Remember how nervous you were when you were learning to drive? You were nervous for a reason. When you drive, you have to watch the road, be alert for danger, stay in the proper lane, and maintain a constant speed-all at the same time. You might think this is easy, but it is not. Driving requires intense focus and even a small amount of alcohol makes that more difficult.

Seeing and thinking clearly are your most important driving skills. After just one drink, it is harder to judge distances between objects that are standing still; so something as easy as backing your car out of its parking spot can be a problem. And even with very little alcohol in your system, you will find it harder to judge the distances between moving objects.

Driving at night after drinking is also hard, especially for an older driver whose vision is not as good as it once was. The more alcohol you have in your system, the longer it will take you to see clearly after you are blinded by the bright lights of an oncoming car.

Sober drivers scan the road often, looking for pedestrians, traffic and signs. When impaired, you do this less often. After drinking, you will also look at one thing for longer than usual. As a result, your scanning takes more time, so you may miss something important. Alcohol makes it harder to see things a little outside your direct line of sight. You'll also pay less attention to what you do see-even if it is a child running into traffic.

Alcohol affects other important driving skills, as well. For instance, tests show that impaired drivers steer more slowly and are heavier on the brake. They also are slow to change speed and correct steering.

Since drinking changes our ability to make judgments, it can also make us more willing to take risks. The same pretend-confidence that a drink can give you to talk freely over the punch bowl can lead to bad decisions on the road. When you have been drinking, you may not respect your normal margins of error. For example, you may be certain you can make the light before it changes-a decision you may not make when sober. The more you drink, the greater your risk of causing a crash.

Even drivers with little alcohol in their systems are more likely to be involved in a crash causing death than the average sober driver. Beginning at the legal alcohol limit of .08, the risk rises a lot. At a level of .15, your likelihood of being in a collision where somebody dies increases by more than 65 times.

Figure: Relative Likelihood of Fatal Crash as a Function of BAC and Age

Source: Mayhew, D.R., Donelson, A.C., Beirness, D.J., & Simpson, H.M. 1986. "Youth, alcohol and relative risk of crash involvement." Accident Analysis and Prevention 18:273-287.

If you are 35 and driving with an alcohol limit of between .08 and .099, you are four times more likely to die in a crash than you would be if you were sober. If you are 19 and driving with the same level of alcohol in your system, you are 20 times more likely to be killed.

Figures like these have led some provinces to set low or zero alcohol levels for young and new drivers. If they are caught on the road with any amount of alcohol in their systems, they may be fined and lose their license.

No matter how much driving experience you have, drinking changes everything. It puts everyone-you, your passengers and others on the road-at risk. So before you have that first drink and your judgment becomes impaired, make the smart choice: leave your car keys at home.

"I'm fine officer - really."

Most of us like to think we are good citizens. We vote, pay our taxes and recycle. So the idea that we might one day be seen as criminals is hard to believe.

But if you are found to be driving any type of motor vehicle while legally impaired, you are committing a crime. And you don't have to be driving a car or truck on the road to be charged. Impaired driving laws apply to boats, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and airplanes. They apply on private property as well as on public roads. They apply even if the vehicle is parked. Once you sit behind the wheel with the keys in your hand, the laws apply to you.

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENS - AND IT IS NOT FUN
If a police officer comes up to your car and you have been drinking or doing drugs, you might be in for a long night.

The officer will ask you a few questions and sniff the air. If the officer suspects you've been drinking or doing drugs, you may be asked to give a breath sample. You will do this by blowing into a device.

Canadian police measure how much alcohol is in your blood using two types of breathtesting machines. On the road, the officer likely uses an approved screen device (ASD) to decide whether you have had enough alcohol to require you to take a breathalyzer test, which is more precise.

If you can't blow into the ASD for some reason, the officer may be able to get a warrant for a blood sample. It is against the law to refuse to provide a breath or blood sample without a good excuse. So if you are like most people pulled over, you will blow into the ASD.

If the ASD warning light goes on, the amount of alcohol in your blood is over the legal limit. Right away, the officer may suspend your licence for a short period and your car will probably be towed away. You will be arrested, put into a cruiser and taken to the nearest police station.

At the station, you have the right to call a lawyer, who should remind you that it is a crime to refuse to give a breath or blood sample.

If the sample shows you are over the legal limit, the police will charge you under the Criminal Code of Canada, take your picture and fingerprint you. You will feel like a criminal - because now you are being charged as one (you are not an actual criminal until convicted).

Once the courts decide you've been driving while impaired, the penalties are serious.

Table 1 shows provincial and territorial penalties for each kind of impaired-driving offence.

Table 1 - Provincial/Territorial Penalties for Impaired Driving Offences

Your licence will be suspended for up to 90 days. When you sign a form promising to appear in court on a certain date, you will be free to go.

When you go to court the judge can convict you, order you to pay a $1000 fine, suspend your licence for one year or longer, and may order you to perform community service.

According to the Criminal Code, you will lose your licence for a year for your first offence. The second time, you will have to spend 30 days in jail and you will lose your licence for up to five years. The third time, you will spend at least four months in prison and you may lose your licence for life (see Table 2). The province or territory will send you a letter that tells you that you've lost your licence and explains what you have to do before you can get it back. This may include a medical assessment and the use of an alcohol ignition interlock.

Think about it. Drinking and driving can give you a criminal record, maybe a huge debt and, if you drive for a living, cost you your job. When you do get your licence back, your insurance premiums will be very high. And things could be even worse.

Let's say that instead of simply being caught in a roadside check, you got in a crash that hurt or killed someone. The crash will haunt you for the rest of your life, and the law will also punish you. You may need to pay the victims back in some way. You can also be charged with impaired driving causing bodily harm or impaired driving causing death. The federal Criminal Code imposes other penalties, including jail time. If someone gets hurt because of your impaired driving, you could go to jail for up to 10 years. If someone dies, you could spend up to the rest of your life in prison.

When you do get your licence back, you may be required to install an alcohol ignition interlock on your car. Why? This device ensures a driver can pass a breath test before the car will start. You will pass the test only if there is little or no alcohol in your blood. Once you have passed the breath test and can start your car, the device may require you to take a retest at random times. Refusing or failing the retest will set off an alarm. All data is recorded and can be reviewed by driver licensing authorities.

While this device will protect you and others from the danger of you driving while impaired, it is expensive and may embarrass you in front of any passengers you have in your car.

Compared to getting caught in a roadside check, wrecking your car, harming others or even dying in a crash yourself, doesn't the cost of a cab ride home from the party look like a good bargain?

NO THANKS, I'M DRIVING
Avoiding arrest is easy: if you drink, don't drive. Pick a designated driver (and offer to return the favour next time). Call a cab. Take the bus. Call your mom. Call your spouse.

If you do decide to have one or two drinks:

• Watch serving sizes: Be honest - that double martini or balloon glass of red wine counts as more than one.
• Accept the advice of someone who says you are too drunk to drive and hand over the keys.
• Be extra careful: If you drink, don't drive.

Table 2 - Criminal Code Penalties For Impaired Driving Offences

Drugs & driving don't mix

Most of us know that drinking and driving is a bad mix, but what about drugs and driving?

Taking drugs before driving - whether they are legal or not - is also dangerous. Drugs and driving are a big problem in Canada: studies show drugs are found in up to 30 percent of drivers killed in crashes.

Drugs can make it harder to react, judge distances and make decisions. You may find it harder to steer, stay in your lane or drive at a steady speed. You become much more impaired when you use two or more drugs before driving. And the combined effects of even a little alcohol and drugs can be much greater than the effect of either one alone.

On July 2, 2008, a new law gave Canadian police officers more power to deal with drivers impaired by drugs. If an officer thinks you are driving while impaired by any drug, he or she will ask you to take a Standardized Field Sobriety Test. During this roadside test, the officer will check your eyes and see if you are having trouble keeping your balance.

If you do seem impaired, the officer will take you to the police station. There, an expert will test your coordination, look into your eyes, interview you and take your temperature, pulse rate and blood pressure. You will also have to give a sample of urine, saliva or blood. Refusing to comply with the officer's request is a criminal offence.

The dangers of drug impaired driving are like those of alcohol impaired driving. The penalties for a conviction are the same as well.

Over the past ten years, when people spoke out against drinking and driving, teens listened.

The rate of alcohol-related crashes among teens dropped faster than the rate among any other age group. But while many young people know they need designated drivers, they still face unique risks:

• Teens haven't been driving for long, so they have fewer skills to draw on if they get into trouble on the road.
• Young people often share rides, so car crashes involving young drivers often hurt or kill many people at once
• Most young people can't legally drink, so they often drink far from town - in parks or at cottages, for instance. So the common tip to "walk or take the bus home" doesn't really apply
• Guides for adults rarely include tips for dealing with the peer pressure that can make teens drink and try drugs, which alone or mixed with alcohol - can also lead to trouble

Here are a few ways teens - and their parents - can reduce the risks related to impaired driving.

TIPS FOR TEENS

• Speak up. Talk to your friends about the risks of drinking and driving.
• Think ahead. How would you get around if you couldn't drive? Graduated licensing means you can lose your license after just one drink. And how would you feel if you caused a crash - especially if someone were hurt or killed?
• Offer support. Make sure your designated driver doesn't drink at all.
• Be strong. Never get in the car with someone who has been drinking! Instead, call your parents or someone else and ask for a ride. They would rather drive you home in the middle of the night than learn you were hurt or killed in a crash.
• Be prepared. Bring enough money to pay for a cab if you need one.
• Celebrate wisely. Promote the "Safe Grad" concept. On graduation night, think about things you could do besides drinking. If you and your friends do drink, make plans before the party to make sure everyone will get home safely.

TIPS FOR PARENTS

• Be open. Talk to your teens about drinking/ doing drugs and driving. Let them know you won't let them use the car anymore if they drink and drive.
• Provide a safety net. Tell your teens they can call you anytime they need a safe ride home and you'll be there.
• Share the facts. Make sure your teens know that riding in a car with a driver who has been drinking is just as dangerous as driving after drinking.
• Set a good example. If you've been drinking, don't drive.

WOMEN

A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY
Most information on drinking and driving has been aimed at men. That made sense back when most drivers were men. But times have changed; women drive about one-third of all car trips in Canada. Women shouldn't make driving decisions based on advice for men. If a woman and a man drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman's Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) will usually be higher, since most women are smaller than most men and have less blood.

HARD-CORE DRINKERS

TOUGH MINDS TO CHANGE
Since the 1980s, there is much less drinking and driving in Canada. But some hard-core drinkers still drive after drinking a lot of alcohol-often twice the legal limit. Some do so over and over again, and very little seems to change their minds.

These people may be heavy drinkers or full-blown alcoholics. They may not want to admit they have a problem with drinking and driving, because then they would have to admit they have a problem with alcohol. If you know people like this:

• Try to discuss the problem with them when they're sober.
• Cheer them on if they decide to get help.
• Invite them to social events where no one is drinking, so they know they don't need to drink to have fun.
• Be patient. Getting sober is hard, and just about everyone falls off the wagon at least once.

OLDER DRIVERS

CHANGING NEEDS
While over two-thirds of Canadians 65 and over have a driver's licence and access to a car, many older drivers don't drive after dark and drive more slowly during the day because of their changing vision and slower response times.

Even so, older drivers are more likely than others to be involved in crashes at intersections. Sometimes it is because they don't see road signs or yield the right of way. They may also have problems making left turns because of having to make too many choices at once.

OFF-ROAD DRIVERS

DRIVE SAFELY... EVEN OFF THE ROAD
Alcohol makes it hard to drive any vehicle safely, including a boat, snowmobile or allterrain vehicle (ATV). As a result, the laws for road vehicles apply to their off-road cousins too. You can be charged with impaired driving whether you're driving your car across town or your boat across the lake.

Off-road drivers have challenges such as driving in areas with no traffic signals or road signs. Problems we don't usually see on the road, from fences to water buoys, can surprise us. And since most of us spend less time on a snowmobile or in an ATV than we do in our cars, we are less skilled at judging danger and making the right choices. Add alcohol and you have a recipe for disaster.

Alcohol won't warm you up if it is cold or rainy. In fact, it lowers your body temperature, so you're more likely to suffer from exposure to the cold. To be safe, leave the alcohol at home.

The truly thoughtful host

As a good host, you don't want a guest to be in a crash after the party. And if you've been serving alcohol, the law may even find you liable for any damage your guests cause on the way home.

You need to make sure your guests don't drive if they've had too much to drink. Here are a few tips.

• Take "no" for an answer. If you offer guests a drink and they say "no thanks", don't try to change their minds.
• Give your guests a choice. Serve a festive fruit punch or "mocktail" clearly labeled alcohol-free, along with other non-alcoholic juices, sodas and water.
• Don't have an open bar. When all the bottles are out on the table, guests tend to drink more than usual.
• Stay sober. You may need to stop serving drinks to some guests and try to stop them from driving home if you think they have had too much to drink. Being a good host requires judgment and tact-and you won't have either if you are impaired.
• End the party slowly. Stop serving drinks a few hours before the party ends. Instead, serve food and non-alcoholic drinks, and urge your guests to stay to enjoy them.
• Keep cash on hand for cab fares.
• Invite guests to stay overnight.
• Ask guests to plan ahead. When you invite guests, ask them to make plans for getting home safely.

BE A GOOD PASSENGER
Help everyone in your car get home safely by doing the following.

• Make sure everyone in the car knows who the designated driver is before you get to the party.
• Support the designated driver. If your driver has been drinking, suggest he or she have some food. If you've had only a drink or two, offer to be the designated driver instead, and switch to non-alcoholic drinks.
• Don't let anyone get in the car with an impaired driver. Your safety is more important than someone's feelings.
• Be honest. If someone asks you to drive because he or she doesn't feel able, don't say yes if you've been drinking. Instead, suggest another way you can all get home.

Quiz

1. What does BAC stand for?
   a. Body Alcohol Content
   b. Blood Alcohol Concentration
   c. Breath-Alcohol Collection
   d. Blood Advisory Content

2. What is the criminal BAC in Canada?
   a. 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood (.08%).
   b. 50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood (.05%).
   c. 100 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood (.1%).
   d. 60 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood (.06%).

3. The police use a breathalyzer to determine a level of impairment by alcohol while you were driving.
   True
   False

4. Which of the following are impaired by drugs and/or alcohol?
   a. Coordination
   b. Attention span
   c. Decision-making skills
   d. All of the above

5. Which of the following are "standard servings" of alcohol (wine, beer, or spirits)?
   a. 6 oz. (177 ml) glass of wine, 20 oz. (591 ml) pint of beer or, 2 oz. (59 ml) of spirits
   b. 5 oz. (148 ml) glass of wine, 18 oz. (532 ml) pint of beer or, 1.5 oz. (44 ml) of spirits
   c. 5 oz. (148 ml) glass of wine, 12 oz. (355 ml) bottle of beer or, 1.5 oz. (44 ml) of spirits
   d. 6 oz. (177 ml) glass of wine, 15 oz. (444 ml) bottle of beer or, 3 oz. (89 ml) of spirits

6. On average, it takes 2 hours for a standard serving of alcohol to break itself down.
   True
   False

7. If you have a BAC of .09%, how long will it take on average for your BAC to reach 0%?
   a. 3 hrs
   b. 4 hrs
   c. 5 hrs
   d. 6 hrs

8. A conviction for driving while impaired by drugs is the same as driving impaired by alcohol.
   True
   False

9. Nearly 60,000 Canadians are charged with impaired driving offences every year.
   True
   False

10. If you become a third time offender you could lose your licence for life.
    True
    False

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Date modified:

2010-01-20

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