SLOWER REACTION TIME DUE TO ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION CONTRIBUTES TO CHILD’S DEATH

Back in May and June of this year I blogged about the dangers of drinking and driving. Now, a six year old boy was run down and killed by a suspected DUI driver. According to Riverside county sheriff department spokespeople and jail records, a man suspected of fatally striking a 6-year-old boy who ran in front of his car Sunday, Sept. 15, in Temecula has been arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol.

The boy, whose name has not been released, ran into the street from behind a parked car and was struck by driver, Bradley Amor Megginson Jr., 25, of Temecula. Despite being rushed from the scene by ambulance to a nearby hospital, the child died of his injuries.  Stopped and interviewed shortly after the crash by the police, Megginson appeared to be under the influence of alcohol which is suspected to be a factor in the auto vs. pedestrian accident.

Research shows that the smallest amount of alcohol consumption results in driving impairment. This impairment begins even below the legal limit for driving under the influence. In every state in the U.S. the legal limit for  drunk driving is a .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC). At .08 BAC, drivers are 11 times more likely to have a single-vehicle crash than drivers with no alcohol in their system.  Furthermore, at .02 blood alcohol concentration, people demonstrate loss of judgment, decline in visual functions, experience a decline in the ability to perform two tasks simultaneously and their ability to track a moving object is detrimentally affected.

Though just one drink may be under the legal limit, the almost unnoticeable subtle changes to the driver’s perception, motor skills and reaction time, may in an emergency situation have disastrous and deadly consequence.