Hungover driving: just as bad as distracted driving. Don’t do it!

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.-You might think you’re fine to drive home from a New Years party the following morning…but you might want to wait even longer to get behind the wheel. 

“The only thing that sobers you up is time,” said Norton Hospital Medical Toxicology Special Dr. George Bosse. 

You could still have alcohol in your system if you had drinks the night before. 

“Alcohol can stay around for a while if you drink a fair amount,” said Dr. Bosse. 

It can take between one and two hours for the body to eliminate the alcohol in one standard sized drink. 

“If you add up and have a couple drinks, that time starts to add up. A lot of people if they’re going past midnight they may think to themselves “I’ll sleep it off, get up in the morning and be good to go when you may actually still have alcohol still in your system,” said AAA Director of Public Affairs James Garrity. 

You could also be experiencing withdrawal symptoms, which happens when you feel hungover. 

“A lot of those symptoms are you’re distracted, you have an inability to focus, you’re dizzy, you can barely see, you have light sensitivity,” said Garrity. 

This can affect your ability to drive. 

“There’s plenty of research that shows that distracted driving can be just as deadly as drunk driving,” said Garrity. 

Think twice before driving this New Years.