It is well-known that drinking large amounts of alcohol in a night and then proceeding to get behind the wheel that same night is incredibly reckless behavior. Far fewer people would associate getting behind the wheel the next day as being dangerous. However, recent research indicates that driving while suffering from a hangover can also be quite risky.
A California doctor recently pointed out some of the effects being hung over can have on a person, including a worsening of the functioning of one’s thought processes and a reduction in one’s reaction time. One could see how such effects could significantly reduce a person’s ability to drive in a safe and attentive manner and could potentially lead to auto accidents.
Currently, there is no stigma attached to driving hung over the way there is for driving while drunk, which means there is less societal pressure for people to not get behind the wheel when hung over. The above-mentioned research raises serious questions as to whether this should be the case. Do you think society needs to change its views on hung-over driving? If so, what sorts of things do you think would help bring about such a change?
There are many different things that can impair a person’s ability to drive. Regardless of what the cause of an impairment to driving is, if a person here in Texas feels like their ability to drive safely has been compromised, they should not get behind the wheel.
Given how varied the causes of impairment to driving can be, figuring out whether impaired driving played a role in a given auto accident can be challenging. This is one of the reasons why a person, when they have been injured in an auto accident and suspect that the other driver involved may have been impaired, may wish to have a knowledgeable car accident attorney carefully look over the details of the collision.
Source: CBS Sacramento, “Study: Driving With Hangover Can Be As Dangerous As Driving While Intoxicated,” Tony Lopez, May 5, 2014
