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On July 1, 2003, New York State made a slight adjustment to the law with respect to driving under the influence of alcohol. The legal Blood Alcohol Concentration limit (BAC) was changed from .10 to .08. The objective behind the change in the law is to save lives and provide safer roads and highways. The decrease in the BAC legal limit is also intended to increase our awareness about the effects of alcohol on the brain and hence on our driving abilities.

A measure of Blood Alcohol Concentration can be obtained from a blood or a breath test. Depending on factors listed below, it would take 3 to 4 drinks within one hour to raise the BAC from .00 to .08. A BAC of .30 or higher is extremely dangerous as continued drinking will lead to death by alcohol poisoning.

What is a BAC?

Blood Alcohol Concentration is defined as the level of alcohol in the bloodstream. More specifically, BAC denotes grams of alcohol per liter of blood. As the number of alcoholic beverages consumed over a period of time increases, so does the BAC. Alcohol is metabolized, broken down and excreted from the body, by the liver and it takes a healthy liver one-hour to metabolize one drink. A drink is defined as either: a 12 oz. can of beer, a 5 oz. glass of wine, a 1.5 oz. shot of 80 proof liquor, or a 12 oz. wine cooler at 5% alcohol content.

Factors Affecting BAC?

There are many factors that speed up or slow down the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream. The following is a partial list of factors that affect the BAC level: (1) after consuming the same amount of alcohol within the same time period, a person with a high body weight, which means higher blood/water content in the body, will have a lower BAC than someone with a lower body weight; (2) women tend to have higher BAC levels than men after consuming the same number of drinks within the same period of time; (3) a person drinking on a full stomach will register a lower BAC than someone who drinks the same amount of alcohol in the same time period on an empty stomach; (4) faster drinking leads to higher BAC; (5) mixing drinks with carbonated water or soda leads to a higher BAC than using juice or water.

It is difficult to estimate one’s BAC after consuming alcoholic beverages because of the factors listed above. The general consensus is that a 170 pound male is at a BAC of .08 after four drinks consumed within one hour. In contrast, a 140 pound female is at a BAC of .08 after three drinks consumed within one hour.

Alcohol adversely affects judgment, coordination, reaction time and vision, which are all necessary components of safe driving. The law dictates that a BAC of .08 defines impairment in ability to drive. This arbitrary definition of impairment is problematic because most individuals’ critical driving skills become impaired at a blood alcohol concentration of well below the legal limit of .08.

Regardless of the legal limit, drinking and driving are incompatible. Fatalities that result from impaired driving are completely preventable. If you plan on going out to drink, then plan a safe way to return home. To ensure your safety and the safety of others on our roads and highways, always use a designated driver or call a taxi or a friend to drive you home.

Seasonal increase in DWI?

Holidays are a time of reunions with family and friends. Unfortunately, they are also a time of increased fatalities and injuries related to drunk drivers. According to the 2002 statistics gathered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 4,019 traffic related fatalities during the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. Out of the 4,019 fatalities, 1,561 or 38.8% were related to alcohol. Please be safe during this holiday season by thinking about safety first.

Arpi Hovaguimian, LMSW is the Executive Director of the Alcohol & Drug Council of Tompkins County, Inc. Sober Talk is a monthly column by the Council and runs the first Thursday of each month.