The effects of alcohol on the cognitive function of males and females and on skills relating to car driving

Nine male and nine female subjects received one of four doses of alcohol (0‐25, 0‐5, 0‐75 or 1 g per kg of bodyweight for male subjects: females received 92% of these values) or placebo. Similar blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) for males and females were reached. Subjects were then tested on two batteries of psychological tests related to skills involved in driving. These included psychomotor, cognitive and subjective assessment tasks. The results showed a linear increase in the disruption of performance with dose for many of the tests, particularly those involving psychomotor function. In addition it was demonstrated that on certain tasks males were affected more by alcohol than females. It is concluded that moderate doses of alcohol (resulting in BACs of 0‐05 to 0‐08 g/100 ml) can produce significant deficits in perceptual and motor skills related to driving a vehicle.