Saskatchewan handbook · chapter 6 · 10 min read

Drinking, Drugs and Driving

7. Drinking, drugs and driving

7.1 Alcohol

Facts about drinking and driving in Saskatchewan*:

• A drinking driver is involved in four out of every 10 fatal collisions.
• There is a drinking driver in approximately 6% of all collisions where someone is injured.
• Of the average 34 people killed, 24 were drivers, seven were passengers, two were pedestrians.
• Of the average 34 people killed, 19 were killed on highways, six on rural roads, four on urban streets and five on First Nations roads.
• Those aged 25-34 are involved in the most alcohol-related collisions.
• Alcohol, although legal, is an addictive drug that depresses the central nervous system (brain) and may change your mood and behaviour. * Based on 2018 to 2022 five-year average.

The impairing effects of alcohol on the brain Alcohol affects everyone differently. Blood alcohol content (BAC) may be affected by age, gender, physical condition, and amount of food consumed, medication and other factors. Also, different mixed drinks contain different amounts of alcohol, so it’s important to know how much alcohol has been consumed, not just how many drinks the person has had.

Sequence of effects on the body Alcohol is absorbed into the blood stream very quickly. As blood alcohol levels start to rise, the brain becomes increasingly sedated or drugged.