Many adults
-
by some estimates, nearly half the adult
population
-
choose never
to
drink alcohol,
so
they
never drive after drinking. For persons under 21,
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
eliminate the leading highway safety
problem is for people never
to
drink alcohol and then
drive. But what
if
people do? How much is
“too
much”
if
someone 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:
The amount of alcohol consumed
0
The drinker’s body weight
The amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking
consume the alcohol.
0
The length of time it has taken the drinker to
According
to
the American Medical Association, a 180 Ib
(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
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.
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,
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