1997 Pontiac Firebird Owner's Manual - Page 168

Many adults -- by some estimates, nearly half the adult population -- choose never to drink alcohol, so they never drive afterdrinking. For persons under 2 1, it's against the law in every U.S. state to drink alcohol. There aregood medical, psychological and developmental reasons for these laws. The obvious way to solve this highway safety problem is for people never to drink alcohol then drive. But and what if people do? How much is "too much" if the driver plans to drive? It's a lot less than many might think. Although it depends on each person and situation, here is some general information on the problem. The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of someone who is drinking depends upon fourthings: 0 The amount of alcohol consumed 0 same BAC by drinking three 4-ounce(120 ml) glasses of wine or threemixed drinks if each had 1-1/2 ounces (45 ml) of a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka. The drinker's body weight The amount of food that is consumed before and during drinking 0 The length of time it has taken the drinker to consume the alcohol. According to theAmerican Medical Association, a 180-lb.(82 kg) person who drinksthree 12-ounce (355 ml) bottles of beer in an hour will end up with a BAC of about 0.06 percent. The person would reach the It's the amount of alcohol that counts. For example, if the same person drank three doublemartinis (3 ounces or 90 ml of liquor each) within an hour, the person's BAC would be close to 0.12 percent. A person who consumes foodjust before or during drinking will have a somewhat lower BAC level. 4-3