Alcohol increases the driver’s time to react to what is in front of them and therefore increases stopping distance. However, a study from Cardiff University indicated that not renewing tires can be more dangerous.
Braking distance refers to the distance in meters that elapses from when the vehicle’s brakes are applied until it stops, it occurs in tenths of seconds, but at high speeds it is quite a distance.
On average, drinking alcohol increased the time it takes to react and stop by 18%, or 120 milliseconds. Which means that, at 112 kilometers per hour, this would lead to a longer stopping distance of 3.7 meters.
But the researchers found that this distance can be increased substantially with worn tires. With a 1.6-millimeter tread, the tires have 36% less grip than tires in good condition. Which increases the braking distance more than 27 meters. A tire in optimal conditions has a tread of 4 millimeters.
