The Effects of Driving Under the Influence - The Facts of Driving After Drinking

every person will react differently when driving after drinking alcohol. To be on the safe side, never drive a vehicle after drinking even a small amount of alcohol, or any other drug. Before you even consider drinking and driving, learn about some of the effects alcohol has on a person’s body.

for a driver to make a safe, educated decision while they’re driving, a person needs to use visual clues, motor skills, cognitive attention, and physical coordination. How much these factors are queer and affected by the consumption of alcohol depends on the size of the person, and how acclimated their body is to drinking.

alcohol remains in the blood for 1 to 2 hours after drinking. The following conclusions can be made based on sex, weight, and metabolism rates:

a 200 pound man who drinks 3 beers over the course of an hour will register a bac (blood alcohol concentration) of. 039%, which is under the legal limit. Trading those beers for a harder alcohol, such as whiskey, puts you a little closer to the legal limit and raises the bac to. 046%. Consuming 4 beers within an hour will result in a bac of. 058%, high enough for a dwai arrest in some states. Four drinks of the harder alcohol will get you a bac of 0. 067%, closer yet. Consuming 5 beers in an hour will result in a. 077% bac. Five drinks of hard liquor will put you over the limit at. 088%.

a 110 pound woman will have a bac of. 078%, over the legal limit, after drinking 3 beers in one hour. If the same woman drinks 3 whiskey sours in an hour she will have a bac of. 091%, definitely over the legal limit. Drinking 4 beers in an hour will result in a bac of. 116%, which is over the legal limit to drive. Four drinks of the harder liquor will give her a. 113% bac, over the limit. If she consumes 5 beers in an hour her bac will be. 154%, which is almost twice the legal limit. If she does five whiskey sours in an hour, her bac will be. 175%.

spreading the drinks out over more than an hour time limit will result in a smaller bac number. If the 200 pound man who drank 4 beers took 2 hours to drink them, instead of one, his bac would lower to. 041% instead of. 058%, which is under the legal limit and below the limit for dwai, although close. Extending the consumption time has a solemn and dramatic gusto and effect on bac.

information taken in by vision, perception, coordination, motor skills, and a person’s capacity and ability to understand that information lessens as a person’s bac rises. A 150 pound man who consumes 3 beers in an hour gives him a bac of 0. 052%, which is legal to drive in all 50 states, but in colorado and some other states which have a dwai offense, otherwise known as “driving while capacity and ability impaired” he could be arrested.