1998 Chevrolet Astro Owner's Manual - Page 188

It's the amount of alcohol that counts. For example, if the same person drank three double martinis (3 ounces or 90 ml of liquor each) within an hour, the person's BAC would beclose to 0.12 percent. A person who consumes food just before or during drinking will havea somewhat lower BAC level. There is a gender difference, too. Women generally have a lower relative percentageof body water than men. Since alcohol is carried in body water, this means that a woman generally will reacha higher BAC level thana man of her same body weight when each has the same number of drinks. The law in many U.S. states sets the legal limit at a BAC of 0.10 percent. In a growing number of U.S. states, and throughout Canada, the limit is 0.08 percent. In some other countries, it's even lower. The BAC limit for all commercial drivers in the United States is 0.04 percent. The BAC will be over0.10 percent after three to six drinks (in one hour). Of course, as we've seen, it depends on how much alcohol is in the drinks, and how quickly the persondrinks them. But the ability to drive is affected well belowa BAC of 0.10 percent. Research shows that the driving skills of many people are impaired at a BAC approaching 0.05 percent, and that the effectsare worse at night. All drivers are impaired at BAC levels above 0.05 percent. Statistics show that the chanceof being in a collision increases sharply for drivers who have a BAC of 0.05 percent or above. A driver with a BAC level of 0.06 percent has doubled hisor her chance of having a collision. At a BAC level of0.10 percent, the chance of this driver having a collision is 12 times greater; at a level of 0. I5 percent, the chance is 25 times greater! The body takes about an hour rid itself of the alcohol to in one drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold showers will speed that up. "I'll be careful" isn't the right answer. Whatif there's an emergency, a need to take sudden action, as whena child darts into the street? A person with even a moderate BAC might not beable to react quickly enoughto avoid the collision. There's something else about drinking and driving that many people don't know. Medical research shows that alcohol in a person's system can make crash injuries worse, especially injuries to the brain, spinal cord or heart. This means that when anyone who has been drinking -- driver or passenger -- is in a crash, that person's chance of being killed or permanently disabled is higher thanif the person had not been drinking.