Blood Alcohol Content

The definition of blood alcohol content is the concentration of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream, expressed as a percentage. Blood alcohol content or BAC is used to determine whether a person is legally intoxicated, especially under a driving while intoxicated law. In the field of traffic safety, BAC is expressed as the percentage of alcohol in deciliters of blood--for example, 0.10 percent. A 160-pound man, for instance, will have a BAC of approximately 0.04 percent 1 hour after consuming two 12-ounce beers or two other standard drinks on an empty stomach. Each state has individual laws for the punishment of drivers that operate a motor vehicle with an elevated BAC reading but the limit is the same.  All fifty states and the District of Colombia consider a person legally intoxicated if their BAC is .08% or higher.  Each state has specific laws and penalties designed to deal with drivers that operate a motor vehicle while having a BAC of .08% of higher.

Having a BAC above the legal limit of .08% can result in one or more of the following consequences:

• Vehicle Impoundment
• Suspension of Vehicle Registration
• Vehicle Confiscation
• Vehicle Forfeiture
• Vehicle Immobilization
• Special License Plates
• Ignition Interlock Device

The BAC limit for drivers age 21 and older in most States is 0.08 percent, although some of the states, including Colorado, Mississippi, New York, and West Virginia, to name a few, allow a BAC limit of .10 percent. People are affected differently at different BAC levels. For example, a driver's ability to divide attention between two or more sources of visual information can be impaired by BAC's of 0.02 percent or lower. However, impairments usually occur once an individual's BAC level reaches .05 percent or higher. The impairments consistent with this BAC level include:

• slowed eye movements
• visual perception
• reaction time
• certain types of steering tasks
• information processing

Research has shown that the risk of a car accident increases significantly as BAC levels increase. When comparing drivers who have not consumed any alcohol, the risk of a single-vehicle fatal accident for drivers with a BAC level between 0.02 and 0.04 percent is approximated to be 1.4 times higher. For those individuals with BAC levels between 0.05 and 0.09 percent, the risk jumps to 11.1 times higher. 
Most states require anyone convicted of driving with a BAC over the legal limit to install an ignition interlock device.  This device will only allow the car to start once it has taken a reading of the driver’s breath to make sure the driver has not been drinking. If the ignition interlock device reads alcohol in the driver’s breath, it disables the ignition on the car.  The duration and stipulations for application of this device varies by state.  Thirty states will confiscate your vehicle after multiple DUI/DWI/OWI offenses.  Forty-one states and the District of Columbia will suspend driving privileges after a first offense.  Suspension time varies by state but they range from 60 days to 6 months.

Have you or someone you know been involved in an accident or been charged because of a high blood alcohol content? If so, contact one of our experienced DUI attorneys today!