Impaired Driving
Impaired Driving is one of the biggest problems and cause of crashes, injuries and fatalities today.
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Alcohol Related Fatalities
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Alcohol Related Injuries
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Check Point Strikeforce Campaign
This is a Mid-Atlantic States research-based, zero-tolerance initiative designed to catch and arrest
drunk drivers through sobriety checkpoints and to educate the public about the dangers and consequences
of drunk driving.
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Youth Education
To educate teenagers and young adults about the dangers and consequences of underage drinking and impaired
driving as well as the importance of making safe, healthy decisions.
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Save And Vital Employees (SAVE)
Innovative business outreach program bringing traffic safety to the workplace while helping educate employees
of the dangers of impaired driving on both a personal and professional level.
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SoberRide Program
Popular free cab ride service, which, since 1993 alone, has provided over 40,000 safe rides home to potential
drunk drivers in the Washington-metropolitan.
The legal drinking age in the District of Columbia is 21, and there are three very distinct drinking and driving laws that are enforced by the Metropolitan Police Department:
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Driving While Intoxicated (DWI)
DWI applies to a person having a statutorily prohibited blood alcohol concentration (BAC)) of .08 or higher. (The District of Columbia adopted the .08 percent BAC standard for Driving While Intoxicated in April 1999.) The suspect can be convicted in court based solely on the breath, blood or urine results without any structured field sobriety test.
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Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
DUI applies to a person having a blood alcohol concentration of .07 percent or lower. Under DC Code, a driver can be charged with a DUI offense if, in addition to a BAC reading, the officer has other signs of impairment from a structured field sobriety test and from observations of the suspect's driving behavior.
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Under Age Drinking
Persons under the age of 21 cannot purchase, consume, or possess any alcoholic beverages of any kind. If they are found to be operating a motor vehicle with any measurable amount of alcohol, they will be placed under arrest and charged with DWI—Driving While Intoxicated.
Alcoholism is the most severe type of drinking problem. There is no absolute number of drinks per day or quantity of alcohol that defines alcoholism. Rather, it is defined by how a person's body reacts to alcohol and how the person behaves and thinks when he or she drinks. It is a disease that includes the following four symptoms:
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Craving
-- a strong need, or urge, to drink.
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Loss of Control
-- not being able to stop once drinking has begun.
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Physical Dependence
-- withdrawal symtoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety after stopping drinking.
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Tolerance
-- the need to drink greater amounts of alcohol to feel the same effects, or drinking more than other people without getting drunk.
A person with alcohol dependence has come to rely on alcohol physically, psychologically and emotionally. The brain adapts to the presence of alcohol and undergoes persistent changes. When alcohol use suddenly stops, the body's accustomed internal environment changes drastically, causing symptoms of withdrawal.
For most adults, moderate alcohol use - up to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women and older people - causes few if any problems.
Count as a Drink ....
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12 ounces of regular beer (150 calories)
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5 ounces of wine (100 calories)
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1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits (100 calories)
(This limit is based on differences between the sexes in both weight and metabolism.)
Alcoholic beverages supply calories but few nutrients. Alcoholic beverages are harmful when consumed in excess, and some people should not drink at all.
Certain people should not drink at all:
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Women who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant
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People who are planning to drive or engage in other activities that require alertness and skill (such as driving a car)
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People taking certain over-the-counter or prescription medications
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People with medical conditions that can be made worse by drinking
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Recovering alcoholics
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People younger than age 21
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Drinking and Driving
It may surprise you to learn that you don't need to drink much alcohol before your ability to drive becomes impaired. For example, certain driving skills--such as steering a car while, at the same time, responding to changes in traffic--can be impaired by blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) as low as 0.02 percent. (The BAC refers to the amount of alcohol in the blood.) A 160-pound man will have a BAC of about 0.04 percent 1 hour after consuming two 12-ounce beers or two other standard drinks on an empty stomach. The more alcohol you consume, the more impaired your driving skills will be. Although in the District, the BAC limit for adults who drive after drinking at 0.08 percent, impairment of driving skills begins at much lower levels.
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Interactions With Medications
Alcohol interacts negatively with more than 150 medications. For example, if you are taking antihistamines for a cold or allergy and drink alcohol, the alcohol will increase the drowsiness that the medication alone can cause, making driving or operating machinery even more hazardous. If you are taking large doses of the painkiller acetaminophen and drinking alcohol,you may be at risk for serious liver damage.
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Alcohol-Related Birth Defects
If you are a pregnant woman or one who is trying to conceive, you can prevent alcohol-related birth defects by not drinking alcohol during your pregnancy. Alcohol can cause a range of birth defects, the most serious being fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Children born with alcohol-related birth defects can have lifelong learning and behavior problems. Those born with FAS have physical abnormalities, mental impairment, and behavior problems. Because scientists do not know exactly how much alcohol it takes to cause alcohol-related birth defects, it is best not to drink any alcohol during this time.
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Long-Term Health Problems
Long-term heavy drinking puts you at risk for developing serious health problems, some of which are described below.
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Alcohol-related liver disease
More than 2 million Americans suffer from alcohol-related liver disease. Some drinkers develop alcoholic hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver, as a result of long-term heavy drinking. Its symptoms include fever, jaundice and abdominal pain. Alcoholic hepatitis can cause death if drinking continues. If drinking stops, this condition often is reversible. About 10 to 20 percent of heavy drinkers develop alcoholic cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver. Alcoholic cirrhosis can cause death if drinking continues. Although cirrhosis is not reversible, if drinking stops, one's chances of survival improve considerably.
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Heart disease
Moderate drinking can have beneficial effects on the heart, especially among those at greatest risk for heart attacks, such as men over the age of 45 and women after menopause. But long-term heavy drinking increases the risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and some kinds of stroke.
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Cancer
Long-term heavy drinking increases the risk of developing certain forms of cancer, especially cancer of the esophagus, mouth, throat, and voice box. Women are at slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer if they drink two or more drinks per day. Drinking may also increase the risk for developing cancer of the colon and rectum.
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Pancreatitis
The pancreas helps to regulate the body's blood sugar levels by producing insulin. The pancreas also has a role in digesting the food we eat. Long-term heavy drinking can lead to pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas. This condition is associated with severe abdominal pain and weight loss and can be fatal.
There are many national and local resources that can help. The National Drug and Alcohol Treatment Referral Routing Service provides a toll-free telephone number, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), offering various resource information. Through this service you can speak directly to a representative concerning substance abuse treatment, request printed material on alcohol or other drugs, or obtain local substance abuse treatment referral information in the District. (see Where Can I Get Help).