Drinking the Legal Limit of Alcohol Impairs Vision

It is known that alcohol affects motor skills and decision making skills, but what about vision? 

A new report states that vision is impaired up to 30% before an individual hits the legal limit for drinking in the United States (.08% blood-alcohol concentration by volume). 

This visual impairment makes distinguishing differences between objects based on lightness and darkness much more difficult. 

Researcher Dr. Brian Timney writes, "This is obviously important when you are driving at twilight, when objects are more difficult to see and more difficult to discriminate, even without alcohol. It's at those times when you are going to be most affected, and impaired."  

Perception, October 2013