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Blood
alcohol content (BAC) or blood alcohol concentration
Calculate your
own BAC score with the kind permission of University of Oklahoma Police Department
this is an excellent guide but must be remembered it is only a guide
Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) Calculator
Blood alcohol content (BAC) or blood alcohol concentration is the concentration
of alcohol in blood. It is usually measured as mass per volume. For example, a
BAC of 0.02% means 0.2 ‰ (permille) or 0.02 grams of alcohol per 100 grams of
individual's blood, or 0.2 grams of alcohol per 1000 grams of blood. Blood alcohol
concentration is measured in so many different units that it can be extremely
confusing. The following formula may be of some help. In the UK, BAC is reported
as milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. For example, a BAC of 0.08%
is legally given as a limit of 80 mg per 100 ml. It is also reported in grams
per Litre, which is an equivalent measurement
The University of Oklahoma Police Department have answered several of the
general misconceptions that people have on how much they can drink and legally
drive. Below is the list they have set out including questions regarding eating
mints before a breath test and eating certain foods before breath tests. They
also have designed a BAC
test to see how much you would be over the drink driving limit taking into
consideration weight, hight and age.
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General Misconceptions about Drink Driving
"If I have too much to drink, I can drink a lot of coffee to sober up quickly.
Right?"
Ha. Tell us another one! Drinking a lot of coffee after drinking too much alcohol
may, however, increase your discomfort through the need to use the bathroom while
being transported to the jail on DUI charges. Only time reverses impairment.
"Will eating breath mints after drinking fool a police 'breath test'?"
Eating mints will not affect your BAC level since it isn't the smell of your breath,
but the alcohol content, that's measured. Using breath mints, however, may earn
you points with the arresting officer if you normally have bad breath.
"Well, at least eating breath mints might fool the officer, right?"
Ha. Sure, police are really fooled when they see a combination of erratic driving
behavior and powerfully minty breath. Yep, that one fools us every time. Get real.
"I've heard preparing yourself by eating certain foods before an evening of
heavy drinking will help keep your sober. Is that true?"
That story has been around since before your grandparents were born. The only
relation we've seen between what you eat before drinking and your drunkenness
is that the more you drink, the more likely we are to find what you ate on your
shirt, or on the floorboard of the patrol car.
"Ok, but if I eat a BIG meal before drinking, won't that help keep me from getting
drunk?"
How much you have eaten, and how recently, may have a small effect on how quickly
or slowly the alcohol you consume will enter your bloodstream — but it won't stop
the alcohol from entering. If you drink too much, you will become intoxicated.
There may be, however, a direct correlation between the size of your meal and
how much of your meal may be found later in patrol cars and jail cells.
"Will splashing cold water on my face or taking a cold shower help sober me
up?"
Splash away! And by all means, take a cold shower. It may make you cleaner, but
it won't sober you up or make you a safe driver. The deputies at the jail, however,
prefer clean drunks and recommend showering prior to doing anything that will
lead to your arrest, such as driving after you've been drinking.
"Will running around the block a few times sober me up enough to drive home?"
Exercise won't sober you up any faster, but feel free to run around the block
as many times as you like. The deputies at the jail ask us to remind you to shower
after your long run and before you drive a car.
"They were serving a spiked punch, but I couldn't even taste the alcohol in
it. I can't be drunk!"
Party-goer, beware. Fruit juices have the ability to mask the taste of alcohol.
A fruit "punch" can contain a substantial amount of alcohol without the taste
of the alcohol being noticed — but it will make you just as drunk as alcohol which
you can taste in another kind of drink. A mild-tasting cup of punch at a party
may contain more alcohol than any normal drink you would buy at a bar.
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