Have you ever wondered if you’ve driven while drunk? You might think you’re sober, but others might disagree. That’s why the law relies on specific guidelines to decide if someone is drunk. These guidelines are based on blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Your BAC measures the amount of alcohol in your system, typically assessed through a breathalyzer test. If you want to understand BAC and how it affects you, keep reading:
Why do we use BAC? You can’t judge how drunk someone is just by counting the drinks they’ve had. Alcohol affects everyone differently because of factors like metabolism, body weight, gender, tolerance, and body chemistry. To fairly assess everyone, BAC measures the alcohol concentration in the blood.
What exactly does BAC measure? BAC is expressed as a percentage, indicating the volume of alcohol in your blood. For instance, a BAC of 0.010 means 1% of your blood is alcohol.
How much is too much? The more you drink, the more your cognitive functions are impaired. Legally, a BAC over 0.08 is too much for driving. Even a small amount of alcohol can affect your driving abilities; studies confirm this.
What happens with a high BAC? At a BAC of 0.08, your muscle coordination, judgment, memory, reasoning, reaction time, vision, and ability to process information are all impaired. You are eleven times more likely to have a crash compared to someone with a 0.00 BAC. With a BAC of 0.10, the risk skyrockets to a 52% chance of an accident!
What are the consequences? The most severe outcome of drunk driving is a fatal accident, which can claim your life and the lives of innocent victims. Besides this tragic consequence, getting caught with a high BAC can lead to jail time, license suspension, and heavy fines, depending on your record.
Clearly, blood alcohol concentration is serious business. It can be the difference between life and death. Next time you’re out enjoying yourself, remember that driving afterward could change your life—and others’—in a devastating way.