It’s an unfortunate reality that when some people drink, they lose the ability to keep track of time and the amount of alcohol they have consumed. As a result, many of them believe they’re sober enough to drive, even though they would fail a breathalyzer test. Unfortunately, if this happens to you, you could wind up with a DUI conviction. This is why it is extremely important to know your personal limit when it comes to alcohol consumption and how drinking a lot over a short period of time will affect your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels.
Measuring BAC
When an officer pulls you over for a suspected DUI, he’ll ask you to perform several field sobriety tests in order to evaluate your level of impairment. One of these tests could be a breathalyzer test. The breathalyzer estimates the amount of alcohol in your blood by measuring the amount of alcohol in your breath. The amount of alcohol in your bloodstream depends on your gender, weight, amount of time between your first drink and your last, and how experienced you are with alcohol (your body can become accustomed to a certain amount of alcohol if you drink routinely, and can metabolize it faster).
To get a better idea of how alcohol affects men’s blood alcohol levels, the state of Connecticut compiled data relating BACs with the number of drinks consumed over a given time period. Below is a table that illustrates this data for a man with a medium amount of drinking experience weighing 170 pounds:
The data shows that the more you drink in a shorter period of time, the higher your BAC will be. However, it also shows that even if you drink over a longer period of time, you still need to keep track of how much alcohol you’re consuming, because it can still add up quickly.
Be smart. Take the time to sober up or get a designated driver when you’ve had too much, or can’t remember how much you’ve had. Remember, you can feel sober while still having a BAC above the legal limit, and if you’re pulled over, you’re going to need a better defense than “I forgot how many I had.”
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