General Estimates
A 180-lb man may be able to drink 3.5 regular 12-ounce beers in one hour and keep his Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) under the legal limit of .08%. Similarly, a 140-lb woman may be able to consume 2.5 regular beers in an hour and maintain a BAC of less than .08%.
Keep in mind that these numbers are general estimates that assume that the average regular beer has a 5% alcohol by volume (ABV) level, and they do not take into account other factors. The following are known contributing factors to BAC levels:
- an individual’s metabolic rate
- age
- food consumption
- and more
There are also plenty of craft IPAs, stouts, and ales available with higher ABV levels which would impact the amount you can consume and stay under .08%. On the other hand, light beers have an average ABV of 4.2%, so the same 180-lb man and 140-lb woman may each be able to drink an additional beer in that hour timeframe and potentially keep a BAC lower than .08%. (And remember, there is no limit to the number of non-alcoholic beers you can drink!)
So those are the facts, but not all the facts. Read on for a closer look at the consequences of drinking and driving, plus some North Carolina-specific information that everyone should be aware of.
The Reality of Drunk Driving
You’ve probably seen the ads: “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving.” And seen plenty of DWI statistics. But unless you have personally felt the effects of drunk driving or you work as a personal injury lawyer representing actual people whose lives have been ripped apart by the real devastation a drunk driver can cause, it probably doesn’t hit home.
But home is exactly where drunk drivers hit – and hit hard.
Families shattered. Children and teens’ lives cut short. Relatives left permanently disabled. Severely disfigured. Brain damaged.
I’ll never forget my first DWI case in particular, involving a registered nurse on her way home from a long shift at the hospital.
My client was leaving work where she routinely aided her patients. The other driver – the drunk driver – was considered a heavy drinker. The drunk driver ran a red light, striking my client in the driver door. My client was unable to work for months due to a shoulder injury.
While we were not able to turn back time and prevent the collision from happening, we did everything we could to help our client. We sought money from the drunk driver to try to:
- “fix” our client’s shoulder with surgery
- “help” our client after her surgery with physical therapy to try to regain her mobility and strength
- “make up for” the intangibles our client suffered in the form of pain and suffering
Also – as a collision involving impaired driving – we sought money from the drunk driver to “punish and deter” him from getting behind the wheel and putting someone else in the community at risk of serious injury or death.1
Drunk Driving in the U.S.
So here are those national statistics again. Read them. But this time read them knowing that each statistic represents a real person.
- NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts reported that in 2020, every 45 minutes a death occurred as a result of a drunk driver whose blood alcohol content (BAC) was 0.08 or higher.
That’s 11,654 deaths.
- Among those fatalities, 67% were in crashes in which at least one driver in the crash had a BAC of .15 g/dL or higher – or roughly six to eight drinks in an hour.
- Those 11,654 deaths represented 30% of all traffic fatalities for that year! Simply put, drunk drivers were behind almost a third of all traffic deaths!
- The rate of alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2020 was 3.1 times higher at night than during the day.
- The highest rates of drunk driving occur among drivers aged 21-34. This age group makes up 52% of alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal collisions.
Drunk Driving in North Carolina
In 2021, there were 12,264 crashes that were related to alcohol. Of those, 8,100 resulted in injury. This is up significantly from 2020 when there were 7,426 injuries arising from alcohol-related crashes.
This means 2021’s numbers are also higher than the 5-year average for alcohol-related crash injuries (7,761). Alcohol-related crashes represent 4.4% of all crashes statewide, according to 2021 statistics from the NCDOT. In 2021, the state also saw 3,066 crashes in which the driver had a BAC level above .15.
Am I Liable if I Serve Alcohol to Guests?
You may be. North Carolina law says that when an intoxicated guest causes an accident, the injured party may be able to seek damages from the host if certain conditions exist. So pay attention to the amount you serve your guests and read this list of Ten Way to Minimize Your Liability When Hosting a Holiday Party.
Drunk Driving Resources
We know what alcohol does to the body and brain – it slows our reactions, blurs our vision, makes us brave, and sometimes compels us to take unnecessary risks. Here are some links worth sharing with friends, family, and others – especially teens and twenty-somethings.
And, it bears repeating, if you’ve been drinking, call a cab, or Uber or Lyft. Contact a sober friend or relative. Use public transportation. Use your head – DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE!
