Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving

 Posted on March 19, 2018 in Operating While Under the Influence

Drunk driving is a serious threat to the safety of everyone who uses the road. Across the United States, there are an average of more than 10,000 fatalities every year in car crashes involving a driver who is under the influence of alcohol.

The penalties for driving while under the influence are severe, and an arrest for operating while intoxicated (OWI) can result in substantial fines, jail time, driver’s license suspension, mandatory alcohol addiction assessment and counseling, and the requirement to use an ignition interlock device (IID) in one’s vehicle.

Even though the potential consequences of drunk driving are well-known, many people continue to get behind the wheel after drinking, believing that if they have had just one or two drinks, they will be able to drive safely. However, this type of activity, known as “buzzed driving,” is incredibly dangerous. Moreover, even if a driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC) is under the legal limit of .08 percent, he or she is still putting himself or herself and others at risk.

The Dangers of Buzzed Driving

A driver whose BAC is above .08 percent experiences a number of effects which greatly increase the risk of deadly car accidents. At this level of intoxication, his or her reduced ability to process information makes it more difficult to understand what is happening around their vehicle, and his or her loss of muscle coordination slows reaction times and makes him or her more likely to lose control of a vehicle.

While the dangers of a high BAC are evident, any amount of alcohol in a driver’s system has negative effects on his or her ability to operate a vehicle safely. Drivers with a BAC between .01 percent and .07 percent experience a loss of judgment, a reduction in physical coordination, difficulty dividing his or her attention between multiple tasks, and reduced response times—all of which combine to make a driver much more likely to cause a collision.

Even though driving with a BAC below .08 percent is technically legal, studies have found that buzzed drivers are 46 percent more likely to cause accidents than sober drivers. To avoid causing harm to themselves and others, anyone who has had any amount of alcohol to drink should not get behind the wheel.

Contact a Milwaukee DUI/OWI Defense Attorney

Even if a driver has a BAC below the legal limit, he or she may still be arrested for OWI if the driver is considered to be intoxicated. Illicit drugs and prescription medications can result in impairment of a person’s driving ability when combined with even small amounts of alcohol.

If you have been arrested for OWI in Wisconsin, the attorneys of Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP can help you understand your options for defense and work with you to minimize the consequences to your driver’s license. Contact our Milwaukee criminal defense lawyers today at 414-271-1440.

Sources:

https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving

https://www.adcouncil.org/Our-Campaigns/Safety/Buzzed-Driving-Prevention

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113048672/buzzed-driving-as-fatal-as-drunk-driving-011614/