Deadly Dangers of Drunken Driving
By ARA-Fusion
Published: Tue, Nov 15, 2005

(ARA) - Every 30 minutes someone in this country dies from an alcohol-related tragedy. The U.S. Department of Transportation says that adds up to 16,000 fatalities and 700,000 injuries on our nation's roads from drunken driving accidents every single year.

As startling as those statistics are, equally tragic is the fact that 100 percent of those deaths are absolutely preventable.

"Education is the key," says Palm Beach, Fla., Police Chief Bill Berger, a nationally recognized law-enforcement expert on the subject of drunk driving.  "I'd rather spend all of our efforts on the prevention side than the enforcement side, because as important as it is to catch and arrest drunk drivers, the fact that they are out on the road driving drunk in the first place is a mistake. The good news though is that there are some really good self-assessment devices on the market that allow people an opportunity to check on their blood alcohol range before they make that decision to drive."

One such device is the Guardian Angel (www.GuardianAngel.com) personal alcohol test kit. The test strips come two or four to a pack, so you can easily put a packet in your shirt pocket, purse or wallet if you think you might be out drinking.

Around the time you are considering whether you are sober enough to go from the bar to the car, just put the padded end of a single test strip in your mouth for 10 to 15 seconds, and two minutes later match the darkest color on the test pad to the risk meter. You can then determine your blood alcohol range, which can be an eye-opening surprise for even moderate drinkers.

"Ignorance is not a good thing when it comes to the issue of drunk driving, and few people really understand what their blood alcohol level is," says John Moulden, Transportation Safety Associate and past president of the National Commission Against Drunk Driving. "So these self-assessment devices are a valuable tool to give people the information and education they want and need."

The blood alcohol level information the Guardian Angel test provides is certainly accurate according to the California State Highway Patrol. CHP officers recorded an accuracy rate of 99 percent when they tested it in the field (www.GuardianAngel.com). (http://www.guardianangel.com/alcohol-info.html).

Like any scientific procedure, "When you use the Guardian Angel Personal Alcohol test strips, the result is accurate at that moment the test is taken," states Amanda Beihl, Guardian Angel president. The results can be influenced by when the test is taken due to the rate that alcohol is absorbed in to the body. "If you chugged five beers just prior to taking the test, the reading is going to be lower than if you waited 20 to 30 minutes after drinking the beers. As your body continues to metabolize the alcohol it causes the blood alcohol content (BAC) level to rise. This will change your BAC reading. So take your drinking habits into account as you take the test."

And if you think you can figure out for yourself whether you have had too much to drink, keep in mind that time, body weight, stomach contents and other factors can influence your blood alcohol level.

While it is great to feel good, it is also great to be responsible about your drinking. Also remember that because alcohol depresses the central nervous system, and causes bodily functions controlled by the brain to slow down, good judgment is one of the first casualties of drinking.

Of course there are much worse casualties associated with drinking and driving, but it doesn't have to be that way: now you can use the Guardian Angel personal alcohol testing strips www.guardianangel.com.

Copyright © 2005, ARA Content