Why do people who drink alcohol easily cause traffic accidents?

Decree 46/2016 prohibits drinking alcohol when controlling cars . Motorists will be fined when the alcohol content exceeds 50 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood or exceeds 0.25 milligrams per liter of breathing air. The penalty increases gradually with the concentration of alcohol in the blood.

Doctor Huynh Thanh Hien, Ho Chi Minh City Psychiatric Hospital, said the alcohol unit is the amount of alcohol equivalent to 10 ml of pure alcohol or 25 ml of 40 degree strong alcohol or 200 ml of 5 alcoholic beer. Taking 2 or more alcohol units, the alcohol content exceeds 80 mg / 100 ml of blood or 0.4 mg / 1 liter of breathing air. Most countries around the world begin to sanction from this level so many people only drink less than 1.5 cans of beer so that they will not be penalized if the police check the alcohol content.

The amount of alcohol consumed in the body and the concentration of the test also depend on the state of liver and kidney function and the time from the time of drinking to the time of examination. People with impaired liver and kidney function will have higher concentrations and longer duration.

When drinking 2 or more alcohol units, the concentration will exceed 80 mg / 100 ml of blood or 0.4 mg / 1 liter of breathing air.(Photo: medicalnewstoday).

Particularly, Vietnam has a dense traffic density, so the law prohibits drinking alcohol when driving cars more strictly and only drivers need to be positive for alcohol.

According to Dr. Hien, the effects of alcohol on the drinker's brain are as follows:

1. Alcohol 10-50 mg / 100 ml of blood, equivalent to 0.05-0.25 mg / l breathing air : Patients with mild impairment of judgment, excitement and increased activity, some areas of the brain are inhibited .
2. Alcoholic 60-100 mg / 100 ml of blood, equivalent to 0.3-0.5 mg / 1 breathing air : Spinal inhibition of the cortex, feeling sleepy, reducing concentration and attention, slow reflexes and inability to coordinate movements, reduce judgment and make reasonable decisions, muscle tone decreases. At this concentration the driver is very likely to cause an accident. So most countries prohibit this concentration.
3. Alcohol concentration of 100-150 mg / 100 ml of blood, equivalent to 0.5 to 0.75 mg / l of breathing air : Nearly all of the cortex is inhibited, sleepy, responding to situations slowly including, do not control movements, headaches or dizziness, impaired visual function such as blurred vision or double vision, muscle tone decreased sharply.
4. Alcohol 160-290 mg / 100 ml of blood, equivalent to 0.8-1.45 mg / l breathing air : Severe sensory impairment, including cognitive impairment of external stimuli, severe motor impairment , walking wobbly or falling.
5. At concentrations above 400 mg / 100 ml of blood, equivalent to 2 mg / l of breathing air : Coma, respiratory failure, possible apnea and death.

Dr. Hien warns that alcohol slows down the brain's response to situations that require immediate decision-making and response, slow reflexes, so drinkers who control cars easily cause traffic accidents. Assuming cars are traveling at a speed of 50km / h, just react slowly to brake for a second, the car has rushed forward 13.8m, causing danger on the road.