MYTHS AND FACTS

Despite the fact that some people feel more outgoing when they've had a couple of drinks, alcohol is actually a depressant.  It affects the central nervous system, which impairs vision, coordination, judgment, and reaction time.  Because judgment is affected, the drinker usually thinks he is okay to drive; but he or she is not capable of making that decision.

Myths about drinking and driving abound!

1st Myth: You can always tell when someone is capable of driving.  We all have seen persons who can hardly stand up or string together a coherent sentence after consuming alcohol.  It's easy to know that person should not be driving.  However, other people don't show their impairment as obviously.  Not everyone who is impaired stumbles or slurs their words.

TRUTH:  You can't tell if someone is able to drive just by looking at them.

2nd Myth :  Beer and wine are less intoxicating than hard liquor.  Some people say that one kind of liquor affects them less than another; but the fact is, an ounce of alcohol has the same power to affect the drinker regardless of the type.

TRUTH:  A 12oz can of bottle of beer, a 5oz serving of wine and a 1oz shot of hard liquor all have about the same amount of alcohol.  A six-pack of beer has about the same alcohol content as six average mixed drinks.  You can't tell how much alcohol someone has had by just counting his or her drinks.  Some mixed drinks contain more than one shot of alcohol.

3rd Myth :  Coffee, cold showers, exercise, and other home remedies speed up the body's rate of processing alcohol. 

TRUTH:  Nothing sobers up a drinker except time.  While a number of factors affect how quickly someone becomes impaired (their mood, how much they weigh, how much food is in their stomach, to name a few), the body needs about one hour to process each ounce of liquor.  A person who has had five drinks in two hours burns off only about two ounces of alcohol and will need at least three more hours of non-drinking time to become sober.