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(USGovernment-News.Com, June 23, 2013 ) Austin, TX -- A surprising study from the University of Florida found that around 33 percent of “designated drivers” also drink with the friends they are supposed to be driving home, and some of them are even above the legal limit to get behind the wheel of a car.
The problem is, the researchers, led by Adam Berry, an assistant professor at the U of Florida, aren’t sure exactly how dangerous buzzed designated drivers are to society. However, the researchers noted one thing: When chosen as a designated driver, that person should completely abstain from drinking alcohol.
Berry said that while it’s a good thing more designated drivers don’t drink than do drink, the only safe option for a completely preventable accident is to make sure the designated driver doesn’t drink at all, even if that person knows how well he or she can drive after one of two drinks.
The researchers, all from Gainsville at the University of Florida, went to an unnamed college town and talked to 1,100 bar patrons. Most of them were white males in their mid-20s. Then, they checked the blood alcohol content (BAC) with a breathalyzer of 125 people who said they were the designated driver.
Luckily, 65 percent, or 108 of those that said they were expected to drive their friends home, had zero alcohol in their systems. 28 of them, or about 17 percent, had a BAC between 0.02 and 0.049. More than that, at 18 percent, were at 0.05 or more; the legal limit is 0.08 or higher.
Barry and the researchers noted that, while it may seem “harmless” just to have one or two drinks, it’s perfectly realistic to expect a designated driver not to drink at all, because the easiest and most responsible recommendation is for them to not drink at all.
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