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Checkpoint photo from Venango County, Pennsylvania.

(NTPD press release from Lt. Michael J. McGhee) — Law enforcement officials from Neptune Township will be cracking down on drunk drivers as part of the annual holiday season “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” statewide campaign. Beginning December 5, 2014 and continuing through January 2, 2015, local and state law enforcement officials will conduct saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints looking for motorists who may be driving while intoxicated.

The national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” effort endeavors to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving through a combination of high-visibility enforcement and public education.

“This is a critical law enforcement program that can save lives during a time of the year when impaired driving traditionally increases by nearly 10 percent,” said Chief James Hunt. “This initiative brings attention to the serious consequences of drunk driving and the grave danger those who choose to drink and drive pose to all who share the road with them.”

Last year, 22% of all motor vehicle fatalities in New Jersey were alcohol-related. Nationally, more than 10,000 people die each year in drunk driving crashes. The societal cost associated with drunk driving crashes is estimated to be $37 billion annually.

Law enforcement agencies participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over 2014 Year End Holiday Crackdown offer the following advice for holiday season:

• Take mass transit, a taxicab, or ask a sober friend to drive you home.
• Spend the night where the activity or party is held.
• If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact law enforcement. Your actions may save someone’s life, and inaction could cost a life.
• Always buckle-up, every ride. It’s your best defense against an impaired driver.
• If you are intoxicated and traveling on foot, the safest way to get home is to take a cab or have a sober friend or family member drive or escort you to your doorstep.
• Be responsible. If someone you know is drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel.

Blogfinger Medical Commentary  by Paul Goldfinger, MD.

When people say that they are “going to party” they usually mean that they will consume alcohol. Drinking lowers inhibitions and increases sex drive, although, for men, it reduces performance.  Alcohol also is a depressant and can cause drowsiness. In addition, it is a cardiac stimulant that may result in  heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias.)

Alcohol also reduces judgement, reflexes, concentration, reasoning, depth perception, vision and reaction times.   These effects are seen when the legal limit of blood alcohol is reached (see below,)  but milder versions of these impairments can occur even after one drink in some individuals.

A BAC (blood alcohol concentration)  of .08% is the definition of “drunk driving.” It is the same in all states.  You can get there after about 3 drinks, but that varies with body size, metabolism, weight and  sex (women BAC’s rise higher).

If your level is under .08% you may not be legally drunk, but if you are driving erratically, you can still be charged with “driving under the influence.” For drivers under the age of 21, the legal BAC level for drunk driving is .01%.

It takes about 3 hours for 2 drinks to clear out of your body.  Coffee or showers will not speed that process.

Chief Hunt mentions the number who die yearly in motor vehicle accidents related to alcohol, but the number with serious injuries is over 300,000 each year in the US.

This song  captures the allure of “getting high,”  but it highlights the social weakness inherent in the plan.  (“We don’t know what to say.  So we get high.”)    People can overcome that addictive crutch and learn to party without drugs and alcohol.  Or, at least to have the confidence and self control to drink responsibly.

GROUPLOVE  from the HBO TV series “Girls.”

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