Local businessman and Native Son of the Golden West Ron Brocco was friendly when I met him on Thursday morning out at Infineon Raceway for the St. Patrick’s Day Sobriety Challenge. But after his two required glasses of wine, he turned into my best buddy, calling me honey, sweetheart and, my favorite, pumpkin. Brocco was my designated drinker for the event and despite his endearments, the one thing I didn’t want to do was get into a car with him. Unfortunately, that’s what I was there to do so into the tiny Mitubishi Lancer we climbed – Ron, me and the Russell Driving School instructors in turn.
As part of the raceways’s annual Sobriety Challenge, 13 Bay Area residents and media members were tasked drinking and driving on St. Patrick’s Day at Infineon, all with the blessing of the California Highway Patrol. The controlled wine and beer tasting demonstration is designed to graphically illustrate the dangers of drinking and driving, even at levels below the legal limit of .08-percent.
For his part, Brocco, not a big drinker to begin with, took the challenge in stride, downing his Cabernet and doing his best behind the wheel. Three courses were laid out for participants: a slalom track, an emergency lane change and a parking test. It should be noted that before drinking and driving, the participants drove each of the courses sober. Their skills were then tested after imbibing either two glasses of wine or beer within a 30-minute timeframe.
After blowing a .02 on the breathalyzer, Brocco was given a field sobriety test and led to his car. Brocco has a commercial driver’s license and typically drives big trucks with trailers attached. The peppy little Mitsubishi got a workout when he put the pedal to the metal as instructed. What suffered most as a result of the alcohol, his judgment. Rather than braking or easing off the gas during the emergency lane change course, Brocco sped up, a big no-no according to our instructor, Nico Rondet. “I could feel the effects after the first drink. I generally don’t drink more than one Coors Lite or glass of wine so the two drinks really kind of hit me,” he said.
“Even people well under .08 will show impairment behind the wheel of an automobile,” said CHP Officer Jaret Paulson. “It’s great to have a hands-on demonstration to show the effect alcohol has on drivers.”
The raceway teamed with the CHP and the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School’s Highway Survival Program on the event, which was held purposely on St. Patrick’s Day, one of the top days each year in terms of alcohol consumption.
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