The Issue Of Drinking And Driving In A Rural Context

Reflective Assignment:

The issue of drinking and driving in a rural context

Med 2031

20268351

Due Date: 16th July 2007

INTRO: Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that when combined with driving a motor vehicle can lead to dangerous and possibly fatal outcomes[i]. The Australian Alcohol Guidelines Fact Sheet states that, ‘the risk of accident or injury increases rapidly with increasing blood alcohol levels.’[ii] Drink-driving is an identified highly risky behavior that can not only endanger one’s physical life, but also social standing, and possibly even mental health. Drink-drivers also put other people at risk, with reckless driving a precursor for motor vehicle accidents and fatalities.

EFFECTS: Driving shortly after alcohol consumption is a serious problem that modern society faces. Driving a motor vehicle is a complex activity, and it has been proven that the alcohol consumption affects concentration, judgment, and the ability to distinguish movement and lights. With higher alcohol levels in the body, euphoria can often cause an inhibited awareness of danger and overconfidence in driving ability[iii]. Alcohol, once absorbed into the bloodstream, has the capability of affecting different areas of the brain, causing a myriad of behavioral consequences[iv]. The most marked effects that can also inhibit driving capabilities are due to changes in the cerebral cortex. In the cerebral cortex, alcohol depresses behavioral inhibitory centers, thus inducing overconfidence. This can lead to a driver trusting in absent driving abilities, ultimately and probably ending in a motor vehicle accident (MVA). Information processing is also retarded, and so awareness of both visual and auditory stimuli is severely compromised. This is relevant in judgment of traffic lights, and other vehicles on the road. The Limbic system, consisting of the hippocampus and septal areas of the brain, when influenced by alcohol, cause exaggerated emotional responses, which have the...