Many people, when they discover that they’ve had a bit too much to drink, decide to just wait a little bit before driving home. They know that they need to get their blood alcohol concentration down below the legal limit of 0.08%.
For instance, maybe you spent three hours at the bar with some co-workers on a Friday. Then you spent a half an hour drinking a glass of water before you went out to the parking lot. You consider this to be a safe and reasonable course of action, but have you actually lowered your BAC very much?
It does not fall as fast as people assume
The key thing to remember here is that your BAC honestly just does not decrease that quickly. There are a lot of factors that contribute to how fast it rises, such as your weight and your gender, but most people are going to see their BAC drop at roughly the same rate. This rate is 0.015 % per hour, or very close to that standard.
Can you increase that rate?
You can see right away how much of a problem this is. If your BAC is at 0.10%, and you wait for a half an hour, you’re still over the legal limit. In fact, you’d still be over that limit even if you waited for an entire hour.
If you’re looking for a way to increase this rate, note that most experts say it is impossible. Detoxification simply happens as fast as it can, as your liver works to metabolize the alcohol that you consumed. In fact, if you have liver damage or if you’re on certain medications, you may even metabolize alcohol more slowly than this.
Don’t buy into the myths about things that can help you sober up more quickly, such as taking a cold shower or drinking a cup of coffee. These things are generally more aimed at making you feel awake and alert, but that doesn’t mean you’re sober. Your BAC doesn’t actually change any more than it normally would when you drink that cup of coffee. There are no shortcuts and there are no tricks. You simply have to wait until the level drops.
What if you face arrest?
If you think you did everything right and you still get arrested on drunk-driving charges, you absolutely need to know about all of the defense options you have.