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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.
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
U.S.
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 twelve times greater;
at a
level
of
0.15 percent, the chance is twenty-five times greater!
The body takes about an hour
to
rid itself of
the
alcohol
in
one
drink.
No
amount
of
coffee or number of cold showers will speed that up.
“1’11
be
4-3