Effect of alcohol on driving ability

• Author: James G. Wigmore
• Pages: 69-84

 69

 

Ef‌fect of Alcohol on Driving Ability

The ef‌fects of alcohol on abilities related to driving have been studied

extensively for over  years and are discussed in this chapter. The fol-

lowing are the main t ypes of research in this area:

• Laboratory st udies of various components of the driving ta sk

• Laboratory studies using increasingly sophisticated driving simu-

lators

• Closed-course drivi ng of motor vehicles

• Actual highway driv ing or observations

• Field (epidemiological) studies of the incidence of alcohol-related

driving and va rious types of motor vehicle collisions (MVCs)

Various countermeasures have substantia lly reduced alcohol-related

MVC injuries and deaths. Thi s chapter also includes studies on physical

tests of alcohol intoxication and tests in the standa rdized f‌ield sobriety

test (SFST).

. LABORATORY STUDIES

There are numerous studies on the ef‌fect of alcohol on abilities related to

driving in the l aboratory. These studies are the least rea listic in relation

to driving but provide the best scientif‌ic control and can separate t he

various important parameters for driving such as dy namic visual acu-

ity (DVA; ), glare recovery time (), and vigilance tasks ().

Heavy drinkers have not shown signif‌icant behavioral tolerance when

compared with social dr inkers in saccadic velocity and digital symbol

70  The Abridged Wigmore on Alcohol

Reference Number: 

substitution tests (DSSTs; ). The studies in this section are gener-

ally arra nged with increasing blood alcohol concentration (BAC) results.

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