Weekends, birthdays, holidays or just any day ending in “y” can be a cause of celebration for some people – a celebration which often involves the consumption of alcohol. If you, like many others, are planning to drink this Labor Day weekend, make sure you have a way of getting home. Otherwise, you may find yourself with a DUI – or worse – in a Pennsylvania drunken driving wreck.
If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a drunk driving accident in Pennsylvania, you are eligible to order a FREE copy of How to Maximize Your Pennsylvania Car Accident Case Before an Insurance Company Takes Advantage of You,written by the Bucks County drunken driving accident lawyers at Cordisco & Saile.
While designating a driver is always the safest and smartest option, sometimes it just isn’t feasible. In other cases, you may not feel that it is a necessity if you have only had a drink or two; however, even though you may feel perfectly capable of operating a vehicle, do you really know what BAC that drink or two equals up to?
As a driver, it is your responsibility to be certain that you are capable of safely operating a vehicle before you get behind the wheel. Legally, that means that your blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) must be below 0.08%. But, do you really even know what that magical number means? Or what types of things influence that number? Following are a few factors which have an influence over your BAC:
- Food – Eating while you drink slows down the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream.
Carbonation – The gas in carbonated beverages irritate the lining of the stomach, causing alcohol to be absorbed more quickly. - Weight – Weight matters more than height. Two men of different heights who weigh the same will have very similar BACs after drinking the same amount of alcohol.
- Gender – Women’s bodies tend to have less water than men’s; therefore, women will have a higher BAC from the same amount of alcohol than a man of the same weight.
- Age – Older people’s livers metabolize alcohol slower than younger people, which means that they will have a higher BAC than younger people who consume the same amount.
- Menstrual Cycle – Right after ovulation, women’s bodies metabolize alcohol 10% quicker than usual.
There are numerous factors which contribute to the mathematics of a BAC. But, no matter what you’ve been eating, how old you are, how much you weigh or how good you feel, you should always exercise extreme caution if you intend to operate a vehicle after drinking. You should know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are below the legal limit before getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. Otherwise, it may be the very last drink you ever have.
If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a Pennsylvania car crash because of a drunk driver’s negligent decision to get behind the wheel, we are here to help. Contact Cordisco & Saile to speak with a Bucks County car accident attorney about your rights to compensation.
