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
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
12
times greater; at a
level of
0.15
percent, the chance is
25
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
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