how much is too much

[Big-J]

after a night of partying and drinking, how can you determine if you are legally within the limits of the law to drive. the reason i ask is because usually when i go out, i have some drinks in the beginning of the night then stop drinking about 1 1/2 before the club closes and rehydrarte with a bottle of water. after that i feel fine and very able to drive but how do i know if my blood alcohol levels are within "legal" limits.

what blood alcohol percentage would be considered enough for dui in the state of FLorida and approximatly how many drinks would that be for an average sized male? is there any deveice that i can carry around in my car that can determine what my blood alcohol level would be and if so how much does it cost and where can i get one?

i am not condoning drinking and driving and i do realize that having a designated driver would be the best thing but sometimes things happen and that option is not alway available.
i have driven at times when i really should not have and i greatly regret those times even though nothing has happened. hopefully you guys/gals can gimme some insight and helpful advice.

 

[Mike R]

Breathalizers aren't too expensive....As for the local limits, I dunno, check Florida's Motor Vehicles page.

 

[Turbo Matty P]

your best bet is not to guess.. If you have ANYTHING to drink you either need to call a cab or have a (sober) friend give you a ride.

The penalties are NOWHERE near worth time you might sve from calling a cab.

 

[KYMP5]

you can buy a self breathalizer at rite aid for 5 or 6 bucks. comes in a 3 pack. never used them but some of my friends swear by them

 

[trakker15]

for the state of FLorida the legal limit is .08 which for an average sized male two drinks per hour would put him over that. if u are under 21 it is zero tolerance so if you blow anything you automatically get a dui no matter if you are under the .08 limit.

 

[Big-J]

i never heard of the strips but i will definatly look them up.
thanks kymp5 and thanks for the info trakker

 

[Novot]

A VERY rough estimate is that 3 drinks (a shot (1.25 oz) of whisky, 4 oz of wine, or 12 oz of beer) in a 160 lbs person will give you a BAC (blood alcohol content) of >0.1 (according to Spitz and Fisher in "The Medicolegal Investigation of Death", 3rd edition, p 564). Honestly, anything more than 2 drinks in <1 hour will affect your perceptions and reactions time... A 1986 study by the American Medical Association noted that drivers with BAC's of 0.05% are involved in a significant numbers of collisions with associated injury... note the above volumes -- many people will say they've only had "one drink", but that happened to be 4 ounces of whisky -- which is technically considered between 3-4 drinks, and they would be well over the legal limit.

Hope this is helpful...

 

[KYMP5]

no prob

 

[Big-J]

damn, i never realized how easy it is to go over the legal limit. thanks for the info novot it helps alot.

 

[Novot]

Glad it was helpful

 

[GerardPRO5]

after being a victim of a drunk driver rear-ending my stopped car at 60 MPH and suffering from back problems for the rest of my life, I have this to say:

if you drink and drive, you've lost all my respect and I hope that the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits.

seriously though...even if it's just a few drinks and you feel fine...do the rest of society a favor and call a cab.

that's my advice.

 

[mazdaspeedpower]

http://www.breathalyzer.net/consumer-breathalyzers.html, or more generally, check http://www.breathalyzer.net. Personally, i don't think you should drive with any alcohol in your system. but if you do decide to, use one of teh things on those sites to make sure you are not 'legally' intoxicated. But hey, take some advice of mine, 1 drink is enough to screw up yours, and others lives when your behind the wheel. A taxi is the cheapest, safest breathalizer.

 

[JOS3]

easily solved.............DONT DRINK AND DRIVE, AT ALL!

get a designated driver or call a damn cab. if you dont want to do that, then dont drink

 

[Mazdaspeedgirl]

easily solved.............DONT DRINK AND DRIVE, AT ALL!

(werd)

I am designated driver for life for Greg since I rarely drink.
But I also enjoy the clarity of sober thought and knowing that I can go for a drive anytime I want.

But that's me...I always think of things in terms of how/when I can drive my car.