You’re planning to go out for the night and have drinks with your friends. You know that you’re going to have to drive at some point, so you plan to stop drinking early on and to allow your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to drop to a safe level. How can you make sure that you’re safe to drive?
One of the first things you should do is to make sure you have a Breathalyzer on you. Personal Breathalyzers are the only way to be certain that you are not intoxicated beyond the .08 percent limit.
Another way you can help reduce your risk of being over the limit is to make sure you eat before you drink. This helps your body slowly absorb alcohol instead of absorbing it quickly, which is what happens if you have no food in your stomach. The food absorbs the alcohol, which means it takes much longer to digest and break down.
What you’re drinking matters as well. Make sure you know the alcohol percentage in what you’re having to drink. Having a beer is far less alcoholic than drinking vodka, for example. If there is any question of the alcohol content of a drink, err on the side of caution and calculate it at a higher alcohol percentage.
Finally, if you’re not sure if you’re intoxicated or not, don’t take a chance and get behind the wheel. It is far better to call a taxi or ride service than to drive home potentially drunk. If you do drive and get pulled over, you will need to defend yourself to prevent a charge from becoming a conviction.
Source: Breathalyzer Alcohol Tester, “BAC – Blood Alcohol Concentration,” accessed July 27, 2017
