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Blood Alcohol Content Calculator
"How much is too much?"
Use this calculator to
estimate just how little alcohol it takes to put you "over the
limit".
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Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) Calculator |
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Estimated BAC Levels Based on Consumption
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This BAC Calculator is "JavaScript-based" and may not work with some older browsers; —Netscape Navigator 2.0 or higher, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or higher, should work correctly. If you have problems, make sure your browser's set to enable JavaScript.
Important Note: There is no blood alcohol calculator that is 100% accurate because of the number of factors that come into play regarding the consumption and reduction (burnoff) rates of different people. Factors include the sex (male/female) of the drinker, differing metabolism rates, various health issues and the combination of medications that might be taken, drinking frequency, amount of food in the stomach and small intestine and when it was eaten, elapsed time, and others. The best that can be done is a rough estimation of the BAC level based on known inputs.
Disclaimer: This is in no way purported to be a guideline for how much you can drink and still drive or avoid being arrested! The best policy is don't drink and drive. Period.
"If I have too much to drink, I can drink a lot of coffee to sober up quickly. Right?"
Wrong! Drinking a lot of coffee after drinking too much alcohol
will only increase your need to use the bathroom while being transported to the jail on DUI charges.
What you have done is added another substance (caffeine) to your system. Only time reverses impairment.
"Will eating breath mints after drinking fool a police 'breath test'?"
Eating mints will not affect your BAC level since it is the alcohol content in
your system, not how nice your breath smells, that's measured. Using breath mints, however, may
keep the arresting officer from gagging on your breath.
"Will eating breath mints fool the officer?"
Do you really think that police are fooled when they see a combination of erratic driving,
stumbling behavior, slurred speech, red eyes and powerfully minty breath.
I don't think so either.
"Are there certain foods that you can eat before an evening of heavy drinking
that will help keep your sober?"
No. The only relation between what you eat before drinking and your drunkenness is that the more you drink, the more likely
will find what you ate on your shirt, or on the floorboard of the patrol car.
"Ok, but if I eat a BIG meal before drinking, won't that help keep me from getting drunk?"
It is not what you eat, but what and how much you drink that determines if you
get drunk.
How much you have eaten, and how recently, may have a small effect on how quickly or slowly the alcohol you consume will enter your bloodstream — but it won't stop the alcohol from entering. If you drink too much, you will become intoxicated.
"Will splashing cold water on my face or taking a cold shower help sober me up?"
The officers may enjoy your company more if you are clean, but the water won't
have any effect on sobering you up. It provides a momentary stimulation to
your system, and that's all. Only time combined with a lack of drinking
alcohol will sober you up.
"If I can't taste the alcohol I can't be drunk, right?"
Party-goer, beware. Fruit juices have the ability to mask the taste of alcohol. A fruit "punch" can contain a substantial amount of alcohol without the taste of the alcohol being noticed — but it will make you just as drunk as alcohol which you can taste in another kind of drink. A mild-tasting cup of punch at a party may contain more alcohol than any normal drink you would buy at a bar.
Nothing sobers up a drinker except time.
Here are two sex-weighted charts for an alternate method of calculating an approximate BAC level...
ALCOHOL IMPAIRMENT CHART
MALES
| APPROXIMATE BLOOD ALCOHOL PERCENTAGE |
| DRINKS* |
BODY WEIGHT IN POUNDS |
EFFECT ON PERSON |
| |
100 |
120 |
140 |
160 |
180 |
200 |
220 |
240 |
|
| 0 |
.00 |
.00 |
.00 |
.00 |
.00 |
.00 |
.00 |
.00 |
ONLY SAFE DRIVING LIMIT |
| 1 |
.04 |
.03 |
.03 |
.02 |
.02 |
.02 |
.02 |
.02 |
IMPAIRMENT BEGINS. |
| 2 |
.08 |
.06 |
.05 |
.05 |
.04 |
.04 |
.03 |
.03 |
| 3 |
.11 |
.09 |
.08 |
.07 |
.06 |
.06 |
.05 |
.05 |
DRIVING SKILLS SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTED.
** CRIMINAL PENALTIES IN MOST STATES |
| 4 |
.15 |
.12 |
.11 |
.09 |
.08 |
.08 |
.07 |
.06 |
| 5 |
.19 |
.16 |
.13 |
.12 |
.11 |
.09 |
.09 |
.08 |
| 6 |
.23 |
.19 |
.16 |
.14 |
.13 |
.11 |
.10 |
.09 |
| 7 |
.26 |
.22 |
.19 |
.16 |
.15 |
.13 |
.12 |
.11 |
LEGALLY INTOXICATED.
CRIMINAL PENALTIES IN ALL STATES |
| 8 |
.30 |
.25 |
.21 |
.19 |
.17 |
.15 |
.14 |
.13 |
| 9 |
.34 |
.28 |
.24 |
.21 |
.19 |
.17 |
.15 |
.14 |
| 10 |
.38 |
.31 |
.27 |
.23 |
.21 |
.19 |
.17 |
.16 |
Subtract .01% for each 40 minutes of drinking.
* One drink is equal to 1¼ oz. of 80-proof liquor, 12 oz. of beer, or
4 oz. of table wine.
**ALL states have a
.08 BAC per se law.
CALIFORNIA considers you under the
influence at .08 or above.
DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!!
ALCOHOL IMPAIRMENT CHART
FEMALES
| APPROXIMATE BLOOD ALCOHOL PERCENTAGE | | DRINKS* | BODY WEIGHT IN POUNDS | EFFECT ON PERSON | | | 90 | 100 | 120 | 140 | 160 | 180 | 200 | 220 | 240 | | | 0 | .00 | .00 | .00 | .00 | .00 | .00 | .00 | .00 | .00 | ONLY SAFE DRIVING LIMIT | | 1 |
.05 |
.05 |
.04 |
.03 |
.03 |
.03 |
.02 |
.02 | .02 |
IMPAIRMENT BEGINS. |
| 2 |
.10 |
.09 |
.08 |
.07 |
.06 |
.05 |
.05 |
.04 |
.04 |
DRIVING SKILLS SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTED.
** CRIMINAL PENALTIES IN MOST STATES | | 3 | .15 | .14 |
.11 |
.11 |
.09 |
.08 |
.07 |
.06 | .06 | | 4 | .20 | .18 | .15 | .13 | .11 | .10 | .09 | .08 | .08 | | 5 | .25 | .23 | .19 | .16 | .14 | .13 | .11 | .10 | .09 | | 6 | .30 | .27 | .23 | .19 | .17 | .15 | .14 | .12 | .11 | LEGALLY INTOXICATED. CRIMINAL PENALTIES IN ALL STATES | | 7 | .35 | .32 | .27 | .23 | .20 | .18 | .16 | .14 | .13 | | 8 | .40 | .36 | .30 | .26 | .23 | .20 | .18 | .17 | .15 | | 9 | .45 | .41 | .34 | .29 | .26 | .23 | .20 | .19 | .17 | | 10 | .51 | .45 | .38 | .32 | .28 | .25 | .23 | .21 | .19 |
Subtract .01% for each 40 minutes of drinking.
* One drink is equal to 1¼ oz. of 80-proof liquor, 12 oz. of beer, or
4 oz. of table wine.
**ALL states have a
.08 BAC per se law.
CALIFORNIA considers you under the influence at .08 or above.
DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!!
Click
HERE for a
printable copy of the two
Alcohol Impairment Charts (above) in Adobe .PDF format.
(Click
here to download free Acrobat Reader software direct from Adobe.
The same disclaimers apply to these charts (and the printable .PDF chart versions) as to the
"BAC Calculator" at the top of this page. Click
HERE to jump back up and read the disclaimers.
EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL AT SPECIFIC
BAC
LEVELS
The effects of alcohol intoxication are greatly influenced by individual variations; some users may become intoxicated at a much lower BAC level than is indicated (below)...
0.02 — 0.03 BAC: No loss of coordination, slight euphoria and loss of shyness. Depressant effects are not apparent. Mildly relaxed and maybe a little lightheaded.
0.04 — 0.06 BAC: Feeling of well-being, relaxation, lower inhibitions, sensation of warmth. Euphoria. Some minor impairment of reasoning and memory, lowering of caution. Your behavior may become exaggerated and emotions intensified (Good emotions are better, bad emotions are worse)
You might be legally impaired for driving purposes.
0.07 — 0.09 BAC: Slight impairment of balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing. Euphoria. Judgment and self-control are reduced, and caution, reason and memory are impaired
(in some* states .08 is legally impaired and it is illegal to drive at this level). You will probably believe that you are functioning better than you really are.
( * In California, you are
violating the law if you drive while your BAC is .08 or above!)
0.10 — 0.125 BAC: Significant impairment of motor coordination and loss of good judgment. Speech may be slurred; balance, vision, reaction time and hearing will be impaired. Euphoria. It is illegal to operate a motor vehicle at this level of intoxication in all states.
0.13 — 0.15 BAC: Gross motor impairment and lack of physical control. Blurred vision and major loss of balance. Euphoria is reduced and dysphoria* is beginning to appear. Judgment and perception are severely impaired.
( * —Dysphoria: An emotional state of anxiety, depression, or unease.)
0.16 — 0.19 BAC: Dysphoria predominates, nausea may appear. The drinker has the appearance of a "sloppy drunk."
0.20 BAC: Feeling dazed/confused or otherwise disoriented. May need help to stand/walk. If you injure yourself you may not feel the pain. Some people have nausea and vomiting at this level. The gag reflex is impaired and you can choke if you do vomit. Blackouts are likely at this level so you may not remember what has happened.
0.25 BAC: All mental, physical and sensory functions are severely impaired. Increased risk of asphyxiation from choking on vomit and of seriously injuring yourself by falls or other accidents.
0.30 BAC: STUPOR. You have little comprehension of where you are. You may pass out suddenly and be difficult to awaken.
0.35 BAC: Coma is possible. This is the level of surgical anesthesia.
0.40 BAC and up: Onset of coma, and possible death due to
respiratory arrest.
Not all DUI arrests result in convictions. Call Erik Schlueter now for a
free consultation.
Click
HERE for a printable (.PDF) version of this poster from the
NHTSA.
Get The Keys:
How You Can Intervene
The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and The Advertising Council's Innocent Victims public service campaign emphasizes the need to intervene and get the keys away from someone about to drive drunk.
Here are some helpful tips and advice from focus group research on how people can get the keys away from a drunk driver:
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If it is a close friend, try and use a soft, calm approach at first. Suggest to them that they’ve had too much to drink and it would be better if someone else drove or if they took a cab.
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Be calm. Joke about it. Make light of it.
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Try to make it sound like you are doing them a favor.
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If it is somebody you don’t know well, speak to their friends and have them make an attempt to persuade them to hand over the keys. Usually they will listen.
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If it’s a good friend, spouse, or significant other, tell them that if they insist on driving, you are not going with them. Suggest that you will call someone else for a ride, take a cab, or walk.
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Locate their keys while they are preoccupied and take them away. Most likely, they will think they’ve lost them and will be forced to find another mode of transportation.
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If possible, avoid embarrassing the person or being confrontational, particularly when dealing with men. This makes them appear vulnerable to alcohol and its effects.
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Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk.
Pass It On.
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