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 drmking 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
com&cial 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 B,AC 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
4-3
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