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
US.
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 ana
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
The drinker’s body weight
0
The amount
of
food that is consumed before and
during drinking
consume the alcohol.
The
!P“”+h
Y”
*
c!!
time
It
hss
t2:kc::
tbz
drifiker
:G
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.
I
It’s the amount of alcohol that counts.
For
example,
if
the same person drank three double martinis
(3
ounces
or
90
mi of liquor each) within an hour, the person’s
BAC would be close to
0.1
2
percent.
A
person
who consumes food just before or during drinking will
ha\le
a
s~mev~lciat
Iwv~~
BAC
ievei.
4-3
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