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).
3 HOURS
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
I 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.
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