How Much is Too Much?
Let me start out by saying that I am going to try to limit this article solely to Driving While Intoxicated as it pertains to alcohol consumption. When we’re talking about drugs (legal or otherwise), the factors become much more complicated and probably deserve an entire article unto themselves. In Texas, it is not illegal to drive after having consumed alcohol (as long as you are at least 21 years old, and not consuming it in the car, no roadies). It is only illegal to operate a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Intoxicated means having lost the normal use of your physical or mental faculties, or having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 or higher.
That last part is important because it gets to the issue of tolerance. Everyone has a different tolerance level that is dependent upon size, gender, race, history and genetic disposition. The highest BAC I have personally seen on a client was .429. For you non-math people out there that’s over five times the legal limit. It is also well past the level that should kill you. And do you know what? She didn’t look that bad. If I were to guess after having seen hundreds of DWI arrest videos, I would have said around a .14 or .15.
The point of that story is that you cannot determine whether or not you fall under the definition of intoxicated merely by how you look and feel. I would say that a lot of my clients have gotten in trouble merely because they felt okay. If there is any doubt whatsoever in whether you’ve had too much to drive, then don’t get behind the wheel. Get a cab, get a ride, walk, whatever you need to do to get home safely. Don’t risk an arrest or worse just because you aren’t feeling it that much.
Let me start out by saying that I am going to try to limit this article solely to Driving While Intoxicated as it pertains to alcohol consumption. When we’re talking about drugs (legal or otherwise), the factors become much more complicated and probably deserve an entire article unto themselves. In Texas, it is not illegal to drive after having consumed alcohol (as long as you are at least 21 years old, and not consuming it in the car, no roadies). It is only illegal to operate a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Intoxicated means having lost the normal use of your physical or mental faculties, or having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 or higher.
That last part is important because it gets to the issue of tolerance. Everyone has a different tolerance level that is dependent upon size, gender, race, history and genetic disposition. The highest BAC I have personally seen on a client was .429. For you non-math people out there that’s over five times the legal limit. It is also well past the level that should kill you. And do you know what? She didn’t look that bad. If I were to guess after having seen hundreds of DWI arrest videos, I would have said around a .14 or .15.
The point of that story is that you cannot determine whether or not you fall under the definition of intoxicated merely by how you look and feel. I would say that a lot of my clients have gotten in trouble merely because they felt okay. If there is any doubt whatsoever in whether you’ve had too much to drive, then don’t get behind the wheel. Get a cab, get a ride, walk, whatever you need to do to get home safely. Don’t risk an arrest or worse just because you aren’t feeling it that much.
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