How Soon After Drinking Can You Legally Drive?

September 24, 2015

There’s No Substitution For Experience

By Brian D. Roman, Attorney at Law

Some people go out to the bar, have a few drinks, and then taper the drinking off at the end. They spend a while drinking soda or water, then they drive home. They do this so that they can still go out and have a good time with their friends without being in danger of getting a DUI.

So, does this really work? How long does it take for your blood alcohol concentration to drop? If you thought that you could spend half an hour nursing a water, you may be in for a surprise.

In actuality, if your BAC is all the way up at 0.08, which is the legal limit, it may not get back down to 0.00 for as long as six hours. Even if you are just at 0.05 for BAC, it could take all of two hours for it to reach zero. Remember, this is just if you know your BAC at the bar; if you are well over the legal limit, it’s going to take even longer to get back down.

Of course, you may just be waiting for it to drop below 0.08 so that you can legally drive. If so, though you will be under the limit, you should know that there are situations in which the police can try to press charges if they believe that your ability to drive was impaired by the alcohol, even if a breath or blood test shows you weren’t over the  legal limit.

If you have been pulled over and given a DUI, especially if you thought you had sobered up before driving, it’s important to know about all of your legal defense options in North Attleboro, Massachusetts.

Source : Drinking and Driving, “The Truth About Blood Alcohol Content aka BAC,” accessed Sep. 24, 2015

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