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Many adults
--
by some estimates, nearly half the adult
population
--
choose never to drink alcohol,
so
they
never drive after drinking. For persons under 2 1, it’s
against the law in every
U.S.
state to drink alcohol.
There are good medical, psychological and
developmental reasons for these laws.
The obvious way
to
solve this highway safety problem
is for people never to drink alcohol and then drive. But
what if people do? How much is “too much” if the
driver plans to drive? It’s a lot less than many might
think. Although it depends
on
each person and situation,
here is some general information on the problem.
The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of someone
who is drinking depends upon four things:
0
The amount
of
alcohol consumed
The drinker’s body weight
The amount
of
food that is consumed before
0
The length of time it has taken the drinker
to
According
to
the American Medical Association, a
180-lb.
(82
kg) person
who
drinks three 12-ounce
(355
ml) bottles of beer in an hour will end up with
a
BAC
of
about
0.06
percent. The person would reach the
and during drinking
consume the alcohol.
same
BAC
by drinking three 4-ounce
(120
ml) glasses
of wine or three mixed drinks if each had 1
-
1/2 ounces
(45
ml)
of
a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka.
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.
4-3