Crime & Safety

How Many Drinks Will Get You A DUI this Fourth of July? (Chart)

If you insist on driving after a few drinks, here's what you should know about how alcohol affects your system and your criminal record.

Do you know how many drinks you can have before you're in danger of getting a drunken driving violation?

When police pull drivers over for suspected drunken driving, officers ask them to perform field sobriety tests and to take a breath test to measure Blood Alcohol Content. A BAC test measures the percentage of alcohol present in a person's bloodstream. In Michigan .08 is the legal limit.

And in Wayne County, chances are if you choose to drive, you'll be caught with local law enforcement agencies supplying extra road patrols to specifically watch for drunk drivers during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Find out what's happening in Trenton Grosse Ilewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign begins Monday night and runs through Sunday, according to ClickOnDetroit.com.

According to the Virginia Tech Alcohol Abuse Prevention website, every 40 minutes, 0.01 percent of alcohol leaves your system. Take a look at the attached charts to see how many is too many to get behind the wheel, based on your gender, height and weight.

However, police still can arrest someone who falls short of registering a .08 if their driving ability is clearly impaired by having consumed alcohol.

Find out what's happening in Trenton Grosse Ilewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

As the chart indicates, a .00 is the only "safe" driving limit.

Options available to avoid drunken driving

  • Don’t drink and drive.
  • Plan a safe way home before festivities begin.
  • Designate your sober driver before the party starts.
  • If you’re impaired, call a taxi, sober friend or family member, or use public transportation (many local bars will call for cab services).
  • If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact local law enforcement.
  • If you know someone who is about to drive while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to their destination safely.


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