Estimating your blood alcohol content can be very difficult, leading to DUI charges if you wrongly assume that you are OK to drive. An experienced Orange County DUI attorney can help you with your case.
Many adults enjoy unwinding at the end of a long day with a glass of wine, a beer, or other alcoholic beverage of their choice. They may also like a night out with friends, or a drinking during the day at a picnic or sporting events. As long as you drink in moderation, there is nothing wrong with enjoying an alcoholic beverage. But when it comes to drinking and driving, it’s important to know your limits.
The Legal Limit
In California, the legal limit for driving is .08 percent blood alcohol content (BAC). That means that if your is at .08 or above, you can be charged with a crime if you operate a vehicle. It can be difficult to know what that means in practical terms, however. Is that two beers? One mixed drink? 3 glasses of wine? How do you know how many drinks it will take to put you over the legal limit?
Most people understand their own personal limit, or how much they can safely drink and still be safe to drive. But even people who think that they are fine to drive might actually be over the legal limit — and if they are pulled over, they could be facing DUI charges.
BAC Guidelines
How much you can drink and still be under the legal limit depends on a number of factors, including your weight, age, gender and how frequently you drink alcohol. For example, a 250 pound man will generally be able to consume more alcohol than a 125 woman can and still be under the limit of .08 percent BAC. Determining how many drinks you can have before reaching this limit is difficult to do, and is not an exact science. Instead, these guidelines provide an estimate of how intoxicated you are based on the number and type of drinks you consume.
You can calculate your BAC using charts readily available online, such as the one offered here, or by using an online BAC calculator, such as this one offered by the Cleveland Clinic . These charts and calculators estimate your BAC based on your gender, weight, the number of drinks you’ve had, and the amount of time that you have been drinking. These estimates often fail to account for a number of factors, such as your body type, emotional state, tolerance to alcohol, metabolism, amount of food you have eaten before drinking, and other ingredients in your alcoholic beverage. This makes these tools far from accurate, and something that you will not likely want to rely on when deciding if it’s safe for you to drive.
Is It Safe to Drive?
Ultimately, while these tools may give you an idea of your level of intoxication, they are not a foolproof way to determine whether or not you are able to safely drive. Even portable breathalyzers, which are often available for under $100, are not necessarily as accurate as the ones used by law enforcement. The best advice is to not drive if you have been drinking. If you have consumed alcohol, arrange for a ride home, whether it be from a friend, taxi or Uber.
If you have misjudged your level of intoxication and were arrested for a DUI offense, you will need an experienced Orange County DUI attorney on your side. Contact the Chambers Law Firm immediately after your arrest to ensure the best possible defense to these charges. Attorney Dan Chambers is Southern California’s top DUI defense lawyer. Schedule a free initial consultation with him to discuss the facts of your case and ask him questions about the pending charges. The Chambers Law Firm is ready and willing to help you win your DUI case. Contact our office today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule an appointment!
