Filter
Top Products
It’s the amount
of
alcohol that counts. For example, if
the same person drank three double martinis
(3
ounces
or
90
ml
of
liquor each) within an hour, the person’s
BAC
would be close
to
0.12
percent.
A
person who
consumes food
just
before or during drinking will have a
somewhat lower
BAC
level.
There is a gender difference, too. Women generally have
a lower relative percentage of body water than men.
Since alcohol is carried in body water, this means that
a
woman generally will reach a higher
BAC
level than a
man of her same body weight when each has the same
number of drinks.
The law
in
many
U.S.
states sets the legal limit at
a
BAC
of 0.10 percent.
In
a
growing number of
U.S.
states, and
throughout Canada, the limit
is
0.08
percent. In some
other countries, it’s even lower.
The
BAC
limit for all
commercial drivers in the United States is
0.04
percent.
The
BAC
will be over 0.10 percent after three
to
six
drinks (in one hour). Of course, as we’ve seen, it
depends on how much alcohol is in the drinks, and how
quickly the person drinks them.
But
the
ability
to
drive is affected well below a
BAC
of
0.10 percent. Research shows that the driving skills of
many people are impaired at a
BAC
approaching
0.05
percent, and that the effects are worse at night. All
drivers are impaired at
BAC
levels above
0.05
percent.
Statistics show that
the
chance of being in a collision
increases sharply for drivers who have a
BAC
of
0.05
percent or above.
A
driver with a
BAC
level
of
0.06
percent has doubled
his
or her chance of having a
collision. At
a
BAC
level of 0.10 percent, the chance
of
this driver having a collision is 12 times greater; at a
level
of
0.15 percent, the chance is
25
times greater!
4-4