There is no safe limit for alcohol in the body for those who will be driving. Any amount ingested, no matter how small, reduces reflexes and interferes with normal driving conditions. Alcohol also reduces reaction time, concentration and perception.
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Reaction time is the moment when you recognize the obstacle and step on the brakes of the car. In a sober person, this time is up to one second. If she’s drunk, it can take up to two seconds.
“The whole brain is affected by the alcohol level surge, but it has some regions that are more sensitive, like the cerebellum, which precisely controls balance,” explains neurologist Fernando Morgadinho.
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The neurologist also points out that another brain region affected is the frontal region, the decision region.
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“The decision whether to overtake the other car or not is important. If you also make a wrong or insufficient decision with coordination difficulties, then you have an accident with risk for yourself and others,” analyzes the specialist.
How do different alcohol concentrations affect the ability to drive?
The effects of blood alcohol concentration
| Blood Alcohol Concentration (%) | foreseeable effects on driving |
| 0.02% | visual functions decrease; Reduced ability to do two things at once (divided attention) |
| 0.05% | Reduced coordination; reduced ability to track moving objects; reduced reaction to fast driving situations; driving difficulties |
| 0.08% | decreased concentration; loss of shortterm memory; loss of speed control; reduced ability to process information (ability to see characters or characters); decreased perception |
| 0.10% | Reduced ability to stay in lane with the road and stop correctly |
| 0.15% | Significant inability to control the vehicle, pay attention to driving functions, and process visual and auditory information |
How does the substance work in the body and what is the difference between men and women?
Karina Possa Abrahão, a neuroscientist at Unifesp who studies the effects of alcohol on the brain, adds that once the substance is ingested and passes through the lining of the mouth, esophagus and stomach, it begins to act on a wide variety of organs in the body and modify our cells.
But that doesn’t mean he’ll do damage right away.
“Everything we eat, even sugar, will change our body,” explains the researcher. “Many substances are harmful, but alcohol causes changes in the brain that cause the person to seek that drug again, just like other drugs of abuse.”
2 out of 2 alcohol is also addictive. — Photo: Reproduction / TV Globo
Alcohol is also addictive. — Photo: Reproduction / TV Globo
According to the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIAID, a pattern of severe alcohol intoxication (called a binge pattern) is equivalent to 4 or more drinks in women and 5 drinks in men in two hours.
This difference, explains the expert, is due to the fact that alcohol is very concentrated in body fat.
“That’s why women, even if they drink less, sometimes get more intoxicated. Because a woman’s body has more fat,” he points out.
And a shot is equivalent to a can of beer or half a glass of wine.
“So if the person starts taking that amount and in that time period, [o álcool] the brain changes behavior, and if this is something recurring, this binge pattern can change the brain in lasting ways,” warns Karina.
According to the NIAID, this pattern of use among adolescents is of even greater concern because it can impair brain development and cause persistent deficits in social skills, attention, memory, and other cognitive functions.
In general, excess consumption contributes to liver problems and other chronic diseases over time, and increases the risk of several types of cancer, including head and neck cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer.
The concentration also varies with body weight and stomach contents.
Karina also explains that each dose takes an average of two hours to be metabolized by the body, and that blood alcohol levels vary with body weight and even stomach contents.
“But if you’ve been drinking a lot in your life, chances are you’ve already developed some enzymes to help with metabolism [o álcool] a little faster,” he adds.
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