5 ms·

Whenever I've looked at the BAC chart and compared it to my drinking, I discover that I would be incredibly uncomfortable driving while anywhere near .08 BAC, s

by ksdale 5y ago

Whenever I've looked at the BAC chart and compared it to my drinking, I discover that I would be incredibly uncomfortable driving while anywhere near .08 BAC, so I always assumed it was underestimated somehow... or else people are allowed to be way drunker and still drive than seems safe.

abduhl 5y ago
That’s interesting. I just looked at this chart and would be incredibly comfortable driving after drinking the maximum number of drinks on the chart (5) which would place me at 0.15 minus say .04 (over 3 hours, minus 0.01 per 45 minutes) or 0.11. Perhaps you’re just not a big drinker?
- PragmaticPulp 5y ago
  > I just looked at this chart and would be incredibly comfortable driving after drinking the maximum number of drinks on the chart (5) 0.11 is very definitely impaired, whether or not you “feel” anything. False feelings of sobriety are common in heavy drinkers (and users of some drugs with similar mechanisms of action) Please don’t drink anywhere near this amount and drive, no matter how sober you might feel.
  - abduhl 5y ago
    I'd just point out that this five drinks in three hours is one drink more than the rule of thumb often given out of two drinks in the first hour then one drink per hour afterwards. It's the rare 200 lb person that has 5 beers during a football/baseball/soccer game and is "very definitely impaired." Sobriety limits are justifiably geared towards the lower end to accommodate light-weight drinkers. This is even pointed out on the chart by noting that this is a 95th percentile drunkenness/BAC (i.e., 95% of people are LESS drunk/have a lower BAC than shown or, alternatively, 5% of people are MORE drunk than shown).
    - AnthonBerg 5y ago
      Don’t drink and drive. Please.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- dagw 5y ago
  Perhaps you’re just not a big drinker? I think it's more of a question about risk tolerance than alcohol tolerance
  - ksdale 5y ago
    Exactly. No one I know would describe me as a lightweight, but when I have 2 drinks in 40 minutes, I'm very well aware that my reaction time and my ability to notice things is reduced to extent that I'd feel like a jackass getting behind the wheel of a car, even if society deems it legal.
    - t-3 5y ago
      It's not legal to drive with any detectable BAC. It's rarely prosecuted, but you can get in trouble for just one.
      - nicoburns 5y ago
        That presumably depends on where you live. For example: > In the UK, driving or attempting to drive whilst above the legal limit of 0.08% BAC in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 0.05% BAC in Scotland or unfit through drink carries a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment, a fine of up to £5,000 and a minimum twelve months' disqualification.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
vdqtp3 5y ago
When I was drinking heavily, I bought an evidence grade breathalyzer. I would use it as directed (wait 15m after eating or drinking, etc) and find that at a .08 I felt fine (which means nothing, obviously) but also I could pass FSTs and no one around me (sober or drunk) could tell that I had been drinking. Not that anecdotes are data, just to say it 100% depends on the person and the circumstances. Alcohol hits me much harder now.
- ksdale 5y ago
  Interesting! I've always wanted to play around with a breathalyzer.
  - randombits0 5y ago
    There was one in a bar I frequented many years ago, coin op. The cops made them take it out as patrons were competing who could blow the highest.
    - muttled 5y ago
      I'm picturing it like an arcade game where you got to put your initials in if you got the high score.
yibg 5y ago
I think it's the latter. I've tried a few times with a breathalyzer (that I got off of amazon for pretty cheap, so no guarantee on accuracy. Although it was consistent) while drinking and I was pretty shocked at how drunk I felt while still being under 0.08. I always assumed the safe limit would be a beer or 2, after which I'd be driving under the influence. Turns out drinking 5 beers over an hour or 2 I was still only around 0.05.
- zionic 5y ago
  You have the correct idea. 0.14 was the scientifically determined level of impairment. 0.08 is the number MADD paid for.
  - davidgay 5y ago
    Much of Europe is now at 0.05. In unrelated news, driving deaths per inhabitant or per km are also substantially lower in Europe (2x, 5x, etc, depends on country and metric - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r...). Not only due to blood alcohol limits of course, but those changes are symptomatic of an effort to change the rules to actually affect road accident deaths.
zionic 5y ago
This is hilariously false. You have a bunch of comments below that Dona great job of of discrediting this post so I’ll ignore that. The legal limit used to be 0.14, until neoprohibitionists captured our politicians and pushed for the non-scientific 0.08

by ksdale 5y ago

abduhl 5y ago

That’s interesting. I just looked at this chart and would be incredibly comfortable driving after drinking the maximum number of drinks on the chart (5) which would place me at 0.15 minus say .04 (over 3 hours, minus 0.01 per 45 minutes) or 0.11. Perhaps you’re just not a big drinker?

PragmaticPulp 5y ago
> I just looked at this chart and would be incredibly comfortable driving after drinking the maximum number of drinks on the chart (5) 0.11 is very definitely impaired, whether or not you “feel” anything. False feelings of sobriety are common in heavy drinkers (and users of some drugs with similar mechanisms of action) Please don’t drink anywhere near this amount and drive, no matter how sober you might feel.
- abduhl 5y ago
  I'd just point out that this five drinks in three hours is one drink more than the rule of thumb often given out of two drinks in the first hour then one drink per hour afterwards. It's the rare 200 lb person that has 5 beers during a football/baseball/soccer game and is "very definitely impaired." Sobriety limits are justifiably geared towards the lower end to accommodate light-weight drinkers. This is even pointed out on the chart by noting that this is a 95th percentile drunkenness/BAC (i.e., 95% of people are LESS drunk/have a lower BAC than shown or, alternatively, 5% of people are MORE drunk than shown).
  - AnthonBerg 5y ago
    Don’t drink and drive. Please.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
dagw 5y ago
Perhaps you’re just not a big drinker? I think it's more of a question about risk tolerance than alcohol tolerance
- ksdale 5y ago
  Exactly. No one I know would describe me as a lightweight, but when I have 2 drinks in 40 minutes, I'm very well aware that my reaction time and my ability to notice things is reduced to extent that I'd feel like a jackass getting behind the wheel of a car, even if society deems it legal.
  - t-3 5y ago
    It's not legal to drive with any detectable BAC. It's rarely prosecuted, but you can get in trouble for just one.
    - nicoburns 5y ago
      That presumably depends on where you live. For example: > In the UK, driving or attempting to drive whilst above the legal limit of 0.08% BAC in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 0.05% BAC in Scotland or unfit through drink carries a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment, a fine of up to £5,000 and a minimum twelve months' disqualification.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

vdqtp3 5y ago

When I was drinking heavily, I bought an evidence grade breathalyzer. I would use it as directed (wait 15m after eating or drinking, etc) and find that at a .08 I felt fine (which means nothing, obviously) but also I could pass FSTs and no one around me (sober or drunk) could tell that I had been drinking. Not that anecdotes are data, just to say it 100% depends on the person and the circumstances. Alcohol hits me much harder now.

ksdale 5y ago
Interesting! I've always wanted to play around with a breathalyzer.
- randombits0 5y ago
  There was one in a bar I frequented many years ago, coin op. The cops made them take it out as patrons were competing who could blow the highest.
  - muttled 5y ago
    I'm picturing it like an arcade game where you got to put your initials in if you got the high score.

yibg 5y ago

I think it's the latter. I've tried a few times with a breathalyzer (that I got off of amazon for pretty cheap, so no guarantee on accuracy. Although it was consistent) while drinking and I was pretty shocked at how drunk I felt while still being under 0.08. I always assumed the safe limit would be a beer or 2, after which I'd be driving under the influence. Turns out drinking 5 beers over an hour or 2 I was still only around 0.05.

zionic 5y ago
You have the correct idea. 0.14 was the scientifically determined level of impairment. 0.08 is the number MADD paid for.
- davidgay 5y ago
  Much of Europe is now at 0.05. In unrelated news, driving deaths per inhabitant or per km are also substantially lower in Europe (2x, 5x, etc, depends on country and metric - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r...). Not only due to blood alcohol limits of course, but those changes are symptomatic of an effort to change the rules to actually affect road accident deaths.

zionic 5y ago

This is hilariously false. You have a bunch of comments below that Dona great job of of discrediting this post so I’ll ignore that. The legal limit used to be 0.14, until neoprohibitionists captured our politicians and pushed for the non-scientific 0.08