Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol and Drugs

• Don't drink and ride. Studies have found that riders had consumed alcohol in:
  • Thirty percent of all ORV fatalities.
  • Fourteen percent of all reported accidents.
• Alcohol depresses the central nervous system, affects judgment, and slows reaction time.
• Alcohol makes it difficult to pay attention, especially to multiple tasks.
• Most people become slightly intoxicated after only one drink.
• Over-the-counter drugs, as well as prescription drugs like tranquilizers and barbiturates, have effects similar to alcohol.
• Marijuana reduces your ability to see at night and slows your reflexes.
• Amphetamines or cocaine can increase focus temporarily but lead to fatigue when the drug wears off. They also produce mild euphoria, which alters judgment and leads to reckless behavior.

Combining Speed and Alcohol

Speed is a major factor in accidents, and alcohol delays your reaction time. Mixing these two can have serious, even fatal, results. To appreciate more fully why you should never drink and ride, consider these factors.

• Review the information about reaction times and stopping distances in Chapter 2.
• Use three seconds as a typical reaction time, and suppose that alcohol doubles your reaction time. If you're traveling at 30 mph:
  • Normally, you travel 132 feet (3 sec. x 44 ft./sec.) during the time it takes you to see an obstacle and then begin to slow down or maneuver.
  • Under the influence, you travel 264 feet—approaching the length of a football field.
• When you do react, your speed, diminished judgment, and impaired physical condition further complicate a critical response.
  • The faster your speed, the longer the braking distance.
  • During a hard brake, your impaired condition could cause you to lose control of the ATV.
• Under normal circumstances, you usually can handle hazardous situations before they become problems. If you were under the influence of alcohol, your vehicle's speed creates grave consequences to such problems.

When you drink alcohol faster than your body can burn it, the level of alcohol in your bloodstream increases. This level is referred to as Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC).