Why is drinking and driving dangerous? This may seem obvious, but some people may not be aware of the affect alcohol has on the human body and how dangerous it really is. Not to mention the legal implications of drinking and driving.
What is drinking and driving?1
Drinking and driving is when a driver has consumed alcohol to such an extent that he has exceeded the legal limit. In South Africa, the new driving law that is effective from June 2020, states that the legal limit allowed for alcohol is now 0%. This means that no driver may ever drink and drive. Drinking and driving is viewed as a severe crime everywhere in the world. The penalties are quite serious.
What are some of the dangers of drinking and driving?2
When alcohol is consumed, it enters your bloodstream which in turn affects the brain and your driving ability. This can significantly increase the risk of an accident that may result in serious injury or even death to the driver and his passengers and other road users.
How does alcohol affect your driving ability?2
Alcohol slows down your reaction time to dangerous situations that may happen on the road. It could be a pedestrian about to cross the road or a vehicle unexpectedly braking. Usually, you would have avoided such an accident.
Alcohol affects your co-ordination2
Eye, hand and foot coordination are all affected by alcohol. The coordination of someone who has consumed too much alcohol will suffer because they cannot walk in a straight line and may struggle to insert the car key into the ignition.
What is your concentration during driving?2
Your concentration is always required while driving. You should be alert to anything that could be happening around your car while travelling. If a motorist near your car suddenly veers towards you, your alertness will enable you to take quick and timely evasive action. Alcohol diminishes your concentration level, thereby seriously endangering your life, your passengers’ lives as well as other motorists on the road.
Vision is impaired2
After a certain amount of alcohol consumption, your vision can be heavily affected.. In fact, when driving along the road, it may look like there is a fork in the road all the time. In addition, you lose depth of vision. This is when you cannot correctly judge the distance between your car and the one in front of you. Peripheral vision, which is spotting things out of the ’corner’ of your eye, is also compromised.
How does driving under the influence of alcohol affect your cover?2
First and foremost, driving under the influence of alcohol may cause serious injuries, or worse, if an accident should occur.
What about your car insurance? All car insurance companies will reject an insurance claim if you, as the driver, were under the influence of alcohol at the time of your accident. Can you imagine how devastating that can be financially?
Are you looking for affordable car insurance? Why not contact PMD and find out more about their affordable car insurance products with a reduce to zero excess* and no premium increases*. T’s and C’s apply.
This article was prepared by Eric Sandmann in his personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. The views and opinions in the article should not be attributed to anyone but the author unless expressly stated. Nothing in this article should be relied upon as advice, this publication is presented for informational purposes only. No person should act or refrain from acting in reliance on any information found in this article, without first obtaining proper financial advice from the appropriate professional. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, or completeness, of any information linked from, referred to, or contained in this article. The author reserves the right, to edit and change the content of this article.
Source: