Healthy Driving
Alcohol, marijuana and other illicit drugs
Acknowledgment: This section has been developed by DVA Senior Medical adviser using content from DVA brochure 'Facts and Furphies - Your Health and Alcohol'. 'Drinking and Driving' NSW RTA, information from the Australian Drug Foundation. And information from NHMRC Australian Alcohol Guidelines Fact Sheet.
Alcohol
Older road users generally have a very responsible attitude to the use of alcohol. Unfortunately it only takes one lapse for a serious crash to result.
In all Australian states and territories it is an offence to drive with a blood alcohol level of 0.05 or higher.
It is safest not to drink at all if you are going to drive.
Effects of consuming alcohol
Alcohol affects all drivers. It is extremely quick acting. Take a drink on an empty stomach and it will be absorbed into the blood stream in just twenty minutes and start acting on the brain.
Alcohol:
- Slows down your reactions - alcohol affects the brain's ability to control and coordinate the body's movement
- Reduces your ability to judge speed and distance
- Affects your judgement of how fit you are to drive - under the influence of alcohol you may genuinely believe yourself to be driving better than you actually are
- Makes you sleepy and affects your sense of balance
- Increases other risk taking behaviours - drink drivers in fatal crashes are about 3 times more likely to have been speeding and about twice as likely to have not been wearing a seat belt.
Alcohol is associated with 30% of all car accidents.
| BAC | Crash Risk |
|---|---|
| .05 |
Double the crash risk |
| .08 |
7 times the crash risk |
| .15 |
25 times the crash risk |
Blood alcohol concentration - or BAC - is a measure of the amount of alcohol in the blood. A BAC of .05 means that in every 100ml of blood there is .05 grams of alcohol.
Generally the more alcohol you consume the higher your BAC. Your BAC can be affected by:
- How much and how quickly the alcohol is consumed
- Body build - size and weight
- Age and gender - young people and women are usually more affected by alcohol than adult men
- Condition of general health
- Whether food has been or is being consumed
- Type of drink - the amount of pure alcohol in drinks can vary from 2% to 60%. Generally alcohol can appear more rapidly in the bloodstream depending on the alcohol concentration by volume
- Rates of absorption of alcohol - heavily carbonated drinks like champagne or alcoholic sodas tend to be absorbed quicker than other alcoholic beverages.
As people move into older age brackets, their tolerance for alcohol tends to decrease. This is because when alcohol is absorbed, it is distributed throughout the body's total water content, but the volume of total body water decreases with age so a given amount of alcohol produces a higher blood alcohol concentration (BAC)
For these reasons it is difficult to know whether you are under the limit by counting drinks alone. A more accurate measurement of your BAC can be achieved by using an Australian standard approved breath alcohol-testing device.
Staying under .05
You're over the legal driving limit in all Australian States and territories if your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is at or above .05.
|
1st hour | Every hour |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 2 |
1 |
| Women | 1 |
1 |
To stay under .05, men should have no more than two standard drinks in the first hour and no more than one standard drink every hour after that. Women should have no more than one standard drink per hour.
This is only a guideline and does not consider factors such as your age, weight, general health, food consumption and any other drugs or medications you may be on.
What is a standard drink?
The diagram below, from DVA's Alcohol Management Project's Guide to Low Risk Drinking shows a number of standard drinks.
A standard drink contains 10 grams of pure alcohol. Different types of alcoholic beverages contain different amounts of alcohol, it is important to know what a standard drink if you want to stay under .05.
You should also remember, there is no fast way to sober up. It takes your body about an hour to get rid of one drink. You can't sober up by going to the toilet or vomiting, drinking lots of water, eating or having a cold shower. All you can do is wait and let your liver do its work. So be careful the morning after as you could be over the drink-driving limit, even though you feel okay.
For more information on alcohol consumption and your health see Alcohol - The Right Mix in the 'Pills, Potions, Drugs and Alcohol' module or visit www.therightmix.gov.au for information on alcohol and your health.
Cannabis/Marijuana
Using marijuana can significantly reduce your ability to drive safely. Effects such as reduced coordination, slow reaction time, blurred vision and drowsiness have an impact on your driving ability. These effects can last several hours, and appear to vary according to quantity, quality and content. It is not safe to drive while under the effect of marijuana.
Cannabis/Marijuana, particularly in combination with alcohol, greatly increases the risk of having an accident.
The habitual use of illicit drugs, such as psychostimulants like coke, speed, LSD and ecstasy and also heroin, is widely accepted as being incompatible with safe driving. Virtually all illicit drugs are psychoactive and likely to have detrimental effects on driving skills.
For more information regarding the use of marijuana and other illicit drugs and their effects on driving, contact:
Australian Drug Foundation on 1800 555 254, or visit
Australian Drug Foundation's website
www.adf.org.au,
or
www.adin.com.au