RICHMOND – St. Patrick’s Day is this weekend and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles’ (DMV) Highway Safety Office wants to remind holiday revelers not to test your luck driving buzzed. Law enforcement officers across Virginia will be out in full force this holiday weekend looking for drunk drivers.
“Too many people think that as long as they don’t feel drunk they are fine to drive. But the reality is that you’re impared long before you may feel drunk,” said DMV Commissioner Gerald Lackey, the Governor’s Highway Safety Representative. “Even a small amount of alcohol in your system can affect your ability to drive. Buzzed driving is drunk driving.”
Last St. Patrick’s Day weekend (March 17-19, 2023) in Virginia, there were 82 crashes involving alcohol, resulting in 40 injuries – and one death each day.
“You’d never go out on St. Patrick’s Day without wearing something green. So why would you go out without a plan to get home safely?” Commissioner Lackey continued. “Make a plan for a sober ride home before you leave.”
This chart, provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), shows how even a little alcohol can affect your body and your driving abilities. Although the legal limit for driving for those 21 and older is generally a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08, at a BAC of just .02, you can experience a decline in visual function and the ability to perform two tasks at one time, critical skills in driving. According to a BAC chart provided by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, if a female weighing 160 pounds has one drink, her BAC will equal approximately .03, while a male’s at the same weight would be .02. A reminder for those under 21, the only legal BAC is .00. The penalties for violating Virginia’s “zero tolerance” law include losing your license for a year and fines or community service.
NHTSA says drivers with a BAC of .08 are approximately 4 times more likely to crash than drivers with a BAC of zero. At a BAC of .15, drivers are at least 12 times more likely to crash than drivers with a BAC of zero. The risk of crashing is even greater for young males. Some organizations offer sober ride programs on St. Patrick’s Day and other holidays.
