1997 Pontiac Firebird Owner's Manual - Page 169

There is a gender difference, too. Women generally have a lower relativepercentage of body water than men. Si= akobol is carried in body water, this means that a woman generally will reacha higher BAC level than a 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 0.08 percent. Ira some is other countries, it's even lower. The BAC limit forall commercial drivers inthe United States is 0.04 percent, The B'ACwill be over 0.10 percent after three to six drinks (in one hour). Of course, as we've seen, it depends on how much alcohol in the drinks, and how is quickly the person drinks them. But the ability to drive is affected well below a BAC of 0.10 percent. Research shows that thedriving skills of many people areimpaire'dat a BAC approaching 0.05 percent, and that the effects are worse at night. All drivers are impaired at BAClevels above0.05 percent. Statistics show that the chanceof being in a collision increases sharply for drivers who have BAC of a 0.05 percent or above. A driver with a BAC level of 0.06 percent has doubled his her chanceof having a or collision. At a BAC level of 0.10 percent, the chanceof this driver having a collision is 12 times greater; at a level of 0.15 percent, the chance is 25 times greater! The body takes about an hour to riditself of the alcohol 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. What if there's an emergency, a need to take sudden action, as when a child dartsinto the street? A person with even a moderate BAC might not be able to react quickly enough to avoid the collision. There's something else about drinking driving that and many people don't know. Medical researchshows that alcohol in a person's system can make crash injuries worse, especially injuries to thebrain, spinal cordor heart. This means that when anyone who has been drinking -- drives or pas,senger is in a crash, that person's chance of being killed or permanently disabled is higher than if the person had not b'eendrinking. == 4-4