How many drinks does it take to affect your driving?

How many drinks does it take to affect your driving?

• A. Two or more drinks
• B. It varies by person
• C. One drink
• D. No amount of alcohol affects driving

Answer: (C)

One drink can start to affect your driving. Alcohol begins to impair judgment, reaction time, and coordination soon after you start drinking, and the level of impairment can show up even with a single standard drink. How much it affects you depends on factors like your weight, how quickly you drank, whether you had food, and your tolerance. Because of these variables, the safest rule is not to drive after drinking at all. So, a single drink is enough to affect driving, which is why that option is the best answer. The other choices miss this baseline reality: impairment can begin with one drink, not only after two or more; and the idea that no amount affects driving is simply not true.

One drink can start to affect your driving. Alcohol begins to impair judgment, reaction time, and coordination soon after you start drinking, and the level of impairment can show up even with a single standard drink. How much it affects you depends on factors like your weight, how quickly you drank, whether you had food, and your tolerance. Because of these variables, the safest rule is not to drive after drinking at all. So, a single drink is enough to affect driving, which is why that option is the best answer. The other choices miss this baseline reality: impairment can begin with one drink, not only after two or more; and the idea that no amount affects driving is simply not true.