WHY ME? THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS ON DRIVING ABILITIES

foreign [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] is a teenager a college student engaged to be married and her hobby is jumping out of airplanes [Music] [Laughter] thank you Don is a building contract and a partner on a restaurant and lounge [Music] James is the associate County agent he assists farmers in planning and implementing their farm programs and works with 4-H Youth groups [Music] Nan is married and has two children besides being a housewife and mother she is also a part-time secretary [Music] these very different people have one thing in common they all drive cars and they all use Alcohol and Other Drugs sometimes they do all of these things at the same time every driver has heard the slogan if you drink don't drive every driver has heard alcohol and gas don't mix and that a drunk driver is a dangerous driver most of us believe these slogans but only about other people because we have seen how they act when they've had too much to drink unfortunately sometimes tragically many drivers believe these things only about other people not themselves some of us believe we can beat the odds and drive safely even when under the influence of alcohol again I go home every night this way [Music] the four persons you met earlier have volunteered to participate in a demonstration in hopes you may see and one of them are part of you and that you may take a second look at how you handle alcohol drugs and driving before you have to ask yourself why me what you're about to see is completely unrehearsed and real you will witness and be told exactly what happens we have brought our cameras and volunteers to an isolated area of Seabrook Island off the coast of South Carolina here we have designed and constructed a series of simulated obstacles similar to what one Encounters in normal driving situations our volunteers will be tested in their driving abilities in two key areas both of which are likely alternatives to safe arrival at their destinations first driving violations which could result in arrest and second driving errors which could result in accidents each volunteer will be scored on three test drives the first soba the second while under the influence of alcohol and the third while under the influence of a combination of alcohol and another drug you will be the judge of the results here is a course and the obstacles to be negotiated stop signs posted 15 mile per hour Zone parallel parking a yield sign with an approaching car posted 25 mile per hour Zone reaction to a pedestrian in the road staying right at the center line following directional signs stopping before entering a highway passing between obstacles reaction to an unexpected situation and negotiating an obstacle this is the end of the course and the volunteer will be told simply to return to the starting point however the scoring will continue on the return Drive [Music] to make the test as nearly real as possible while providing safety for all concerns certain other situations will be added to the test first the test will take place at night the most common time for driving while under the influence the test car is dual control and a qualified co-driver will be present in case needed in addition each volunteer has been assigned a partner of the opposite sex and an observer so four passengers will be in the car increasing the normal distraction present in many driving situations each volunteer will be followed by a second car containing the scorer and a cameraman the second car will add the destruction of having headlights in the rear view mirror throughout much of the test the same person will score all volunteers during his soba test drive Don demonstrated that he was somewhat careless in his driving habits he committed four violations and had one potential accident when he failed to stop for a stop sign James did better he had only three violations and no accidents Helen demonstrated excellent driving abilities and followed traffic regulations closely she committed only one violation and no accident possibilities and was also a careful and well coordinated driver like Helen she had only one violation and no accident situations all drivers demonstrated that they could negotiate the course with a minimum of difficulty and were able to follow correct driving practices after completing the sober test drive the volunteers joined a staged cocktail party each volunteer was instructed to drink alcohol in their usual manner in company with other volunteers and their assigned Apartments a trained Observer kept close watch on each volunteer when an alcohol level was attained which would affect driving abilities The Observers simply told a volunteer it's time to go James had trouble on his drive after drinking he failed to stop exceeded the speed limit had difficulty parking and was weaving over the center line with a blood alcohol content of 0.11 James committed nine violations and had two potential accidents the blood alcohol content or BAC of each volunteer was taken following their Drive the test was administered by a licensed operator at a BAC of 0.10 or higher a person is considered under the influence Helen was the second driver in the alcohol only test she also had difficulty with the course with a BAC of .08 Helen had nine violations and one possible accident she anticipated obstacles stopping even before they appeared she also was guilty of weaving and bad turns she speeded up and tried to hit the child mock-up but missed with a BAC of .12 Don also anticipated obstacles had slower reactions and handled the car with much less proficiency than when sober he was guilty of seven violations and had two potential accidents the final volunteer in the alcohol only test was Nan she displayed the best control after drinking although she reached the highest BAC 0.15 her biggest mistake was failure to stop her score with a 0.15 BAC showed six violations and one accident on the second day of the test the volunteers added the use of drugs to the test situation Dr L.D Milne dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Arkansas was licensed to administer the drugs during the third driving test the participants were to combine various drugs with alcohol the drugs chosen were those drugs which were quite readily available to the American public except for marijuana all the drugs are legally and medically used drugs which are widely prescribed by the medical profession in each case the dose is given or normal doses that a person would take if he or she had a particular ailment the drugs used were Benadryl which is an antihistaminic compound very similar to all antihistamines found in over-the-counter allergy and cold preparations needless to say these drugs are taken by a large segment of the population the second drug used was Valium this is the most widely prescribed minor tranquilizer used in the United States the third drug used was darvan darvan is a non-narcotic pain reliever that is again widely prescribed for the relief of minor pain all three of these drugs have the side effect of drowsiness when taken in combination with alcohol the drowsiness and intoxication effect is greatly enhanced marijuana was also used by one participant marijuana has been shown to affect a person's ability to judge speed time and distance and consequently can affect a person's driving that evening the volunteers again were permitted to drink alcohol according to their preference to minimize risk each volunteer under what a physical examination and personal medical history check before being selected for the test and a physician was present at all times for his third test drive James was given a normal amount of Benadryl 100 milligrams and then permitted to drink during his drive he consistently exceeded the speed limit and used the brake for no reason he failed to obey stop sign and drove left of the center lane with a BAC of only .08 but with the drug Benadryl added James score shot up to 20 violations and seven accident possibilities Nan took 10 milligrams of Valium a normal therapeutic dose at the party Nan appeared to be nearly passed out yet she still was willing to drive after a combination of alcohol and Valium Nan was very over cautious stopping unnecessarily anticipating obstacles and hugging the curb despite her care Nan committed 11 violations and had six possible accidents with a BAC of 0.10 plus a popular tranquilizer Valium Don was given 65 milligrams of darvan which is a normal dose for this commonly prescribed pain reliever so although he'd been told not to do so he was observed smoking marijuana the combination really had an effect Dawn hit two pedestrian obstacles and ran over the child tricycle obstacle he showed a lack of judgment and seemed not to care what happened he was consistently over the center line and failed to obey stop and yield sign he made wide weaving turns without signals and would apply the brakes for no reason with a blood alcohol content of 0.11 less than on the second Drive Don committed 19 violations and had three possible accidents and three actual accidents after riding with Don our safety officer was almost ready to quit Helen was the last and worst of the drivers in the alcohol and drug test her drug was marijuana Helen violated just about every traffic rule she drove with abandon and seemed to take everything as a big joke with a BAC of only .07 but with the addition of marijuana Helen score soared to 23 violations and 10 accident potentials you know he was coming no I have no idea I plan on breaks my car said to get a break saying that died and everybody else just put their eyes over their heads come back I didn't you don't think he went slow I slowed down for the curtain um and I didn't slow down for it you didn't no I didn't because I wanted to run over it I really did I wanted to run but okay last time I kept sitting behind me what happened I didn't run over listen I really wanted to run over it but it wasn't there I enjoyed this time [Music] [Laughter] what would you say you know stop me and tell me I was drunk um I would tell him tonight how'd you feel drive all right leave me alone [Music] yeah very good yeah want alcohol or what alcohol I didn't feel proud what do you think about what just happened he had a farm supply [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Laughter] [Music] thank you [Music]