|
How Much Harm Could One Martini Cause |
|
|
|
Thursday, 02 August 2007 |
|
Everyone who has ever drawn breath in the United States is aware of Las Vegas’s reputation as one of the greatest cities in the country for those individuals looking to have a memorable experience. A person has only to stand on a city street and look around to see casinos, restaurants and showplaces as far as the eye can see. All of these facilities have one purpose and one purpose only; to provide their patrons with the most memorable experience of their life. Inside each a person can find food, drink and entertainment to sustain them for as long as they choose to stay.
While it is the gambling that often gets these patrons in trouble while they are visiting the facility it is the drink that will exact a toll on them later on. While these facilities remembered to provide alcohol to further their patron’s enjoyment many of them did not think to provide these patrons with an alternate means by which to return home. As a result, every evening hundreds of people get behind the wheel of their car and drive home after an evening’s entertainment.While the question, “How much harm could one martini cause?” pops up again and again in these situations, the truth of the matter is that people who are looking to pass their evening in the gaming halls of Las Vegas very rarely stop at one. One become three and three becomes five until they have imbibed just enough alcohol to convince themselves they can drive home without concern and not quite enough to realize that they have had too much. Even those that do stop at one may still have had too much; an individual’s ability to drink alcohol and walk away unscathed is determined by their height, weight and food consumption that day. A young woman who is only 5’2”, 100 lbs. and has slept the day away without rising to eat may find herself done in by one potent drink. After consuming this alcohol and getting into their vehicle these men and women are then a danger to themselves and those around them because they are driving under the influence. Driving under the influence means that they are driving with a blood alcohol level of greater than .08 and are suffering from impaired reflexes. These impaired reflexes put them at a greater risk of being responsible for an accident and causing injury to themselves and the people and property around them. Even if they do not cause an injury being caught driving under the influence carries with it strict penalties, particularly in Las Vegas. These individuals may find themselves without a driver’s license and facing hundreds or thousands of dollars in fines. They may possibly even be forced to spend part of their precious vacation looking at life from the inside of a prison cell. How much damage can one martini cause? Quite a bit. |
