Memorial Day Holiday DUIs — It Takes Far Fewer Drinks Than You’d Think
Often the person who gets a DUI still “thinks” they’re safe to drive at the time they’re pulled over. How is that possible?
With today as the official start of the Memorial Day holiday week-end, I thought I’d use this post to share some of the science of how it is that a well-intended person gets a DUI. Of course the obvious answer is they chose to drink and drive. So the obvious question, then, is, “WHY?”
The Science Behind a DUI
One of the most difficult obstacles to overcome when working to halt DUIs/DWIs — driving while impaired — is that by the time a person who has been drinking through dinner or over the course of an evening still thinks s/he is sober enough to drive, it’s way too late for them to make the right choice. Drinking quantities of alcohol (even just 2 drinks in an hour) CHANGES the way the brain works; these changes last until the liver is able to metabolize (get rid of) the alcohol in the drinks the person has consumed; changes that affect motor control, judgment, and reaction time, for example. [A person cannot vomit, sweat or urinate the alcohol away – only the liver can rid the body of alcohol – nor can a person walk it off or drink a pot of coffee to sober up — see below.]
Yes, a person chooses to drink; absolutely. But the choice that gets fuzzy once a person has been drinking is the decision to drive. Because even “just a couple,” clouds this decision-making capability by the very nature of the brain changes that have occurred as a consequence of how much they’ve had to drink. Sounds like a classic “Catch-22.” It is.
Below are a few excerpts from the California DMV chart to help you see where your BAC might fall after having “a couple of drinks” and then driving — it’s generally far fewer than a person thinks. In these examples, one drink is equal to: 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer, 1.5 ounces of “hard liquor,” such as 80-proof vodka, bourbon, gin or scotch, or 8-9 ounces of malt liquor (ale and lager beers, for example). These amounts are known as a standard drink of that the alcoholic beverage named.
Back to the California DMV chart. The drink limits shown here are by weight, however there are many other factors that contribute to how quickly one person’s BAC rises as compared to another person’s, which are explained below this list:
110-129 lbs: 2 or more drinks in one hour, your BAC is probably .08% or higher
130-149 lbs: 3 or more drinks in two hours, your BAC is probably .08% or higher
170-189 lbs: 4 or more drinks in two hours, your BAC is probably .08% or higher
As I mentioned, there are many factors that contribute to how quickly alcohol passes through the small intestine, into the bloodstream, and onto the brain, where it “sits” until it is metabolized by the liver (at a very rough average rate of ABOUT one drink per hour — often up to two). These variables include: weight, gender, whether food was eaten to slow down how quickly it passes into the bloodstream, stress, medications, tolerance, stage of brain development, lack of sleep. Not only that, but many drinks poured at parties or restaurants and bars contain more than one standard drink. A Margarita, for example, often contains two to three. Check out NIAAA’s Rethinking Drinking Calculator Tools to find out how many standard drinks are in your favorite alcoholic beverage or container. And for more information on why a person might choose to drink and risk getting a DUI – what is it that goes on in their brains – watch this short video, “DUI: Is It a Choice or an Accident?”
Having said all of this, the safest way to avoid a DUI and the best advice for everyone’s safety is, “Don’t Drink and Drive.” So, please – designate a driver and pass this information along.
Lisa Frederiksen
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Hi Lisa,
Any holiday can bring on a lapse in judgement. Thanks for the reminder to all of us to be cautious and make good choices.
It is really a great and useful piece of information. I am glad that you shared this helpful information with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.