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 will when
each has the same number of drinks.
The law in most U.S. states, and throughout Canada,
sets the legal limit at 0.08percent. In some other
countries, the limit is even lower. For example, it is
0.05percent in both France and Germany. The
BAC limit for all commercial drivers in the United States
is 0.04 percent.
The BAC will be over 0.10percent after three to
six drinks (in one hour). Of course, as we have seen, it
depends on how much alcohol is in the drinks, and
how quickly the person drinks them.
But the ability to drive is affectedwell below a BAC of
0.10percent. Research shows that the driving skills of
manypeople are impaired at a BAC approaching
0.05percent, and that the effects are worse at night. All
driversare impaired at BAC levels above 0.05 percent.
Statisticsshow that the chance of being in a collision
increasessharply for drivers who have a BAC of
0.05percent or above. A driver with a BAC level of
0.06percent has doubled his or her chance of having a
collision.At a BAC level of 0.10 percent, the chance of
thisdriver having a collision is 12 times greater; at a level
of0.15 percent, the chance is 25 timesgreater!
The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol
inone drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold
showerswill speed that up. “I will be careful” is not the
rightanswer. What if there is an emergency, a need to
takesudden action, as when a child darts into the street?
Aperson with even a moderate BAC might not be able to
reactquickly enough to avoid the collision.
There is something else about drinking and driving that
manypeople do not know. Medical research shows that
alcoholin a person’s system can make crash injuries
worse,especially injuries to the brain, spinal cord, or
heart.This means that when anyone who has been
drinking— driver or passenger — is in a crash, that
person’schance of being killed or permanently disabled
ishigher than if the person had not been drinking.
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