Drinking and driving is a serious issue especially among college-aged students. Roughly 1,519 college-aged students between 18 and 24-years old die from a drunk driving incident or other alcohol-related incident. While drinking legally at the age of 21 is a common thing among many college students, it is important to be smart with decision making and aware that your actions can affect your future and the future of others.
Please note, Winona State University is a dry campus and does not support underage or binge drinking, and does not support drinking and driving.
What is drinking and driving?
Drinking and driving occurs when an individual decides to get behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle (car, e-scooter, etc.). Alcohol alters the responses of the body and mind, making it very dangerous to drive while intoxicated. Driving while under the influence of alcohol can result in legal punishments of either a DUI (driving under the influence) or a DWI (driving while intoxicated).
**With the new addition of the Bird E-Scooters in Winona, it is important to remember that the same rules for drinking and driving, as well as the punishments that can result, apply to e-scooters. **
Direct Effects of Alcohol in Your System
- Slow Reaction Time
- Lack of coordination
- Reduced Concentration
- Decreased vision
- Slow judgement
BAC Levels Broken Down in Your Body
Consuming any amount of alcohol, even under the legal limit of 0.08, can lead to dangerous situations. BAC levels are different for everyone and can be affected by many different factors such as: sex of the person, size, the amount of food consumed, amount of alcohol consumed over a given amount of time, and the type of alcohol that is consumed.
Below is a breakdown of what different blood alcohol content (BAC) levels look like in the body and how it affects driving:
-
- 0.02
- Lack of judgment
- Vision functionality decreases
- 0.05
- Judgement is further lacking
- Decreased coordination, slowed response rate
- 0.08
- Legal limit
- Lack of self-control
- Information processing becomes difficult
- 0.10
- Keeping a vehicle in proper lane & braking becomes very difficult
- Speech begins to slur
- 0.15
- Little to no muscle controls
- Visual & auditory information processing are severely impaired
- Vomiting
- 0.02
Drinking and Driving Laws
Driving any type of motorized vehicle with a BAC of 0.08% or higher can result in receiving a DWI (driving while intoxicated).
Potential costs that are expected of a drunk driver:
- Legal expenses
- Medical bills
- Insurance increases/Insurance costs to other drivers involved
Consuming alcohol and deciding to drive is an incredibly risky and illegal behavior that can have major repercussions. Make sure to have a plan before going out to drink. When I go out with friends, I always make sure that I have a sober ride lined up, and if I’m even questioning whether I can drive–I don’t do it.
Even if you think that the alcohol you consumed isn’t affecting you, it is, and it’s not worth it to get behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle, because one night is all that it can take to change not only your own life, but the lives of others as well.
– Kailee Johnson ’25
