San Pedro Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers

The legal dictionary, The Free Dictionary, defines drunk driving, more popularly known as a DUI (driving under the influence) as “operating a motor vehicle while one’s blood alcohol content is above the legal limit set by statute, which supposedly is the level at which a person cannot drive safely.”

The unlawful BAC level is determined by several factors such as:

• Drivers under 21 years cannot have a BAC level at or above 0.01g/dl.
• Drivers on DUI probation cannot have a BAC level at or above 0.01g/dl.
• Drivers for commercial motor vehicles cannot have a BAC level at or above 0.04g/dl.
• Drivers over 21 years cannot have a BAC level at or above 0.8g/dl.

Many factors contribute to how your body metabolizes alcohol; therefore, they can also affect your BAC levels. These factors include: 

• Weight
• Height
• Gender
• Type of alcohol consumed
• Intake of food before/during the time of alcohol consumption
• Amount of alcohol intake
• Any existing medical conditions, such as diabetes

Of course, it is also dependent on the time during which you consumed alcoholic drinks, but what are the effects of higher blood alcohol concentration on your ability to drive?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),  after four alcoholic drinks (BAC level of 0.08g/dL) a driver can experience several of the following:

• Muscle coordination becomes poor, affecting balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing
• A decline in the ability to detect danger
• Judgment, self-control, reasoning, and memory are impaired
• Loss of concentration
• Short-term memory loss
• Speed control
• Reduced information processing capability (ex. signal detection, visual search)
• Impaired perception

Take in mind that four drinks are the approximate amount of alcohol that a 160-pound man would need to drink in one hour to reach the BAC level of 0.08g/dL. Therefore, if you have been drinking, please do not drive!