Owner`s manual
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 camed 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 United States 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
12
times greater; at
a
level
of
0.15
percent, the chance is
25
times greater!
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