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DUI: Understanding Alcohol Content And BAC Measurements

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Drinking and driving is a dangerous game. It can ruin the lives of many people, not just the one who was drinking. Every year, thousands of people are killed in auto accidents that were the result of someone drinking and driving. Even with these serious statistics, many still choose to take that drink and still get behind the wheel. They may tell themselves that they have not had too much to drink and they are capable of driving. Unfortunately, many of them are wrong and will have blood alcohol content readings well over the legal limit if they are pulled over. 

What is Blood Alcohol Content?

Your blood alcohol content (BAC), also sometimes referred to as blood alcohol levels provide a way for measuring the amount of alcohol in your blood for both medical and legal purposes. It is usually measured in percentages of alcohol in the blood. As any medical or legal professional, such as an Orlando DUI attorney, will tell you, the reason that this is important is that it can help officers and medical professionals know how inebriated a person is.

Alcohol Content Percentages in Different Drinks

Different drinks will contain different percentages of alcohol in them. With the most common alcoholic drinks being beer, wine, and liquor, knowing the alcohol content in your favorite drinks can help you and your friends drink more responsibly. Most beers will have an alcohol content that ranges from three to ten percent.

Wines are a bit higher with many percentages ranging from eight to fourteen percent of alcohol content. If the wines are fortified, then they will be even higher. They can be up to 22% alcohol content. The highest is liquor. Many liquors can range from 20-70% alcohol content. These percentages are measured by volume.

How Alcohol Content Percentages Affect your BAC

How the amount of alcohol content affects your BAC will depend on many factors. Everyone is affected by alcohol differently. The main thing that will affect your BAC is the number of drinks that you have per hour. The more you drink, the faster your level increases. Another big factor is the strength of the alcohol that you are drinking. As mentioned earlier, liquor will have a much faster effect on your BAC because it has more alcohol per volume.

Other factors that affect your BAC include your gender, height, weight, and age. Many people do not realize that all of these can make a big impact on how your body handles alcohol of any kind. Also, your BAC can be affected by how much food you have in your stomach. Food can help absorb the alcohol and make your BAC rise much slower than if you had a full stomach. Another big factor is if the drinker is on any medications. There are many medications that can worsen the effects of drinking. Always check the labels on your prescriptions before drinking any kind of alcohol.

Drinking alcohol can lessen your ability to make sound decisions, decreases your mobility, and slows down your reaction time. Because of this, it is very dangerous for both you and other drivers to drink and get behind the wheel. If you get pulled over, you run the risk of getting a DUI. This can have many consequences that will be with you for many years.