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Show What Happens Whena Race Driver Takes a Drink—and a RoadTest The event: a “Drunk Drivers Rodeo” in Tempa, sponsored by the Florida Junior Chamberof Commerce. Thepariicipants: five professional drivers, including the author, top drag racer, Don “Big Daddy” Garlits. tween two rows of pylons. I knocked Sod downseven of them, but for somerea- sonit didn’t even bother me. Next came four two-by-four’s set on edge with just a tire’s width between each pair—a snap for anyone accustomed to keeping a 200 mph dragster on the straight and narrow. I aimed carefully and gunned the car through. Weil... not exactly through. 1 bounced raggedly over them. Shrugging it off, I snaked quickly through the serpentine course, creaming several markers, and roared on to the next test. I was supposed to run over two rows of wooden disks, but scme~ howI couldn't find them. I blamed this on the fact that the disks were similar in color to the dirt surface. Actually, they were clearly visible to sober onlookers several hundred feet away. I managedthefifth test all right, but the next one really shook me—a pop-up figure representing a pedestrian, or maybe a child running after a ball. Even though I was ready for it, the figure didn’t register in time and I came to a screeching halt 10 feet past it. Don * \ x, \ , *‘ : Sh The logic in Don Garlits' mind as he positioned himself behind the \ wheel was, “I’m a pro—and alcohol doesn't affect pros." By DonGarlits I slipped behind the wheel of the dual-control Dodge, buckled my seat belt and grinned reassuringly at the miles on the road each year. A few drinks wouldn’t throw us off. Orso I thought. This was myfourth runin three hours, observerriding beside me. If the Florida Jaycees wanted to and I knew each obstacle like the back of my hand. During this time I had drunk 12 ounces of 86-proof whis- ing drivers, they were going da doesn’t consider you intoxicated un- prove something aboutdrinkaboutit the wrong way. After all, the five of us are profes.Sionals—we average 50,000 12 Family Weekly, May 2, 1971 w Pwnwey rroeweyy samy wy eves key, but I wasn’t legally drunk. My blood-alcohollevel registered .09. Floriless that levelis at least .1. And Florida is tough; almost half our states set the level at .15. So I felt confident. Thefirst test was simply backing be- “Big Daddy” Garlits had just “kilied” a pedestrian. I was shocked. Such a thing seemed impossible! But the nightmare wasn't overyet. Next came two double sets of pylons. There was plenty of room between them, and I thought I had made it— until I looked back and saw the course littered with pylons. This thing had become unreal. I slopped through a hard left turn and headedfor a traffic light that automatically turned red at my approach. Once more ' goofed and slid to a stop right in the middle ofthe “intersection.” Onefinal test: All I had to do was to stop with my front wheels on a line. Any drag racer can do this precisely— it’s the way each race is started. But I overshot by an unbelievable two feet. I returned to the pits badly shaken. Myscore for this run, based on a pos- sible hundred points, was 53. Myfirst Tun, driven while sober, scored 99, While that was critical drop, the fig- ures didn’t tell the whole story. What about that “pedestrian” I ran over? If that had been a real person, my score wouid have been zero. According to the insurance companies, one out of 50 drivers on the road is drunk. Not just drinking, you understand, but drunk. Only onestate (Utah, which sets the line at a blood-alcohol level of .08) would have considered me “drunk” when I made that last run. But drunk or not, I was obviously in no condition to drive. If I had been on the road I might have killed somebody. Maybe me. Maybe even you. Presently available data on the drink- ing driver is, for the most part, based On averages. Our test threw doubt on some of these statistics. The point is, we are ail individuals, and we cannot depend on averages. The only average. factor that showed up was that we were incapable of good judgment while under the influence. No harm was done in this case. But out there on the highway, where the ob- stacles move, and bend and crush when you hit them,it’s a different story. To guide a car safely through today’straffic requires skill, mental alertness and Teflexes honed to a razor’s edge. How does alcohol affect this? Well, last year 35,000 Americans were killed in crashes where drinking was involved. And the senseless slaughter continues because people persist in driving after they’ve had a few drinks. It’s a deadly gamble. I've been doing a lot of thinking about it lately. ’'ve come to the conclusion that you shouldn’t drive even if you have had only one drink. That’s a pretty strong statement, but I think it’s the only answer. ——_ About the author: Don “Big Daddy" Garlits, 39, was recently named to the first All American Driving Team by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association. Dominating drag racing since 1955, he has reached a top speed of 240 mphinthe quartermile races and holds the elapsedtime record of 6.55 seconds. |