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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 b.efore 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
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.
B.ut 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!
4-3
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