1995 Oldsmobile 88 Owner's Manual - Page 161

man of her same body weight wheneach has the same number of drinks. The law in many U.S. states sets the legal limit a BAC at of 0.10 percent. In a growing number U.S. states, and of throughout Canada, the limitis 0.08 percent. In some other countries it's even lower. The BAC limitfor all com&cial drivers in the U.S. is 0.04 percent. six The BAC willbe over 0.10 percent after three to drinks (in one hour). Of course, as we've seen, it depends on how much alcohol is the drinks, andhow in quickly the person drinks them. But the ability to drive affected well below a BAC is 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 effects are worse at night. All drivers areimpaired at B,AC levels above 0.05 percent. Statistics show that chance of being in a collision the increases sharplyfor drivers whohave a BACof 0.05 percent or above. A driver witha BAC levelof 0.06 percent hasdoubled his or her chance of having a collision. Ata BAC levelof 0.10 percent, thechance of this driverhaving a collision istwelve times greater;at a level of 0.15 percent, the chance is twenty-five times greater! The body takesabout an hourto rid itselfof the alcohol in one drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold It's the amount of alcohol that counts. example, if For the same person drank three double martinis (3 ounces or 90 m l of liquor each) within an hour,the person's BAC wouldbe close to0.12 percent. A person who consumes food just before or during drmking will have a somewhat lower BAC level. There is a gender difference, too. Women generally have a lower relative percentage of body waterthan men. Since alcohol is carriedin body water, this means that a woman generally will reach a higher BAC level than a 4-3