Owner's Manual

Your Driving and the Road
Drunken Driving (CONI)
The law in most U.S. states sets the
legal
limit at a BAC of 0.10 percent. In
Canada the limit is
0.08 percent, and in
some other countries it’s lower than
that. The BAC will be over
0.10 percent
after three to six drinks
(in one hour).
Of course, as we’ve seen, it depends on
how much alcohol is in the drinks, and
how quickly the person drinks them.
But it’s very important to keep in mind
that the ability to drive is affected well
below a BAC
of 0.10 percent. Research
shows that the driving skills of many
people are impaired at a BAC
approaching
0.05 percent, and that the
effects are worse at night. All drivers
are impaired at BAC levels above
0.05
percent. Statistics show that the chance
of being in an accident increases sharply
for drivers who have a BAC of
0.05
percent or above. A driver with a BAC
level of
0.06 percent (three beers in one
hour
for a 180-pound or 82 kg person)
has doubled his or her chance of having
an accident. At a BAC level of
0.10
percent, the chance of that driver having
an accident is six times greater; at a
level
of 0.15 percent, the chances are
twenty-five times greater! And, the
body takes about an hour to rid itself of
the alcohol in one drink.
No amount of
coffee or number of cold showers will
speed that up.