Can I Drink Two Pints Of Alcohol And Drive?

Will two pints of beer put you over the limit? Photo credit: Simon Cocks, Flickr. 

Question: So I’m going to play poker tonight. Let’s say I arrive at 9 p.m., drink two cans of cider, and leave around midnight. Would I likely be over the limit?

Answer: Drinking and driving is extremely dangerous. If you’ve had one too many and somehow manage to sneak past the highway patrol, your actions may lead to an accident that causes physical injury or death. Yet, in spite of these cold, hard facts, we often find ourselves out for a night on the town wondering if it’s OK to have just one more drink before we hit the road.

“In the United States, it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content over .08,” says Erin Holmes, director of traffic safety at the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility. “The .08 BAC per se limit is based on more than three decades of scientific research.” That research reveals that once drivers reach a level of .08, critical driving skills, including reaction time, the ability to perform divided-attention tasks, and judgment of speed and distance, become dangerously compromised.

But how many drinks does it actually take to reach the .08 level? First, we have to consider the exact definition of a “drink.” Holmes reveals that the federal government’s official nutrition policy defines a standard drink of alcohol as 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits, 12 ounces of regular beer, or 5 ounces of wine. Therefore, a pint of beer (16 ounces) is a little more than one drink. And two pints is a little more than 2.5 drinks.

Two pints might be enough to get you to a .08 alcohol level, but then again, it might not. There are a number of factors that contribute to each individual’s rate of intoxication, but two of the biggest ones are weight and sex. “According to the government studies for a 180-lb. man, it takes 4 12-ounce 5% alcohol beers, 4 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor [to roughly equal a blood alcohol content level of 0.08],” says George C. Creal, Jr., a DUI attorney in Atlanta. “For a 100-lb. woman, it can be as little as two such drinks.”

And while some people might turn to water or coffee to diffuse the impact of alcohol, one of the best things you can actually do is eat something before you start drinking. “Blood alcohol can peak on an empty stomach after 30 minutes, while a full stomach can take up to two hours,” continues Creal. To keep things moderate he recommends consuming no more than two drinks at a sitting and sipping slowly—just one drink per hour.

It should also be noted that the penalties for drinking and driving vary widely from state to state. Drivers charged with a first-time DUI in Georgia will have to serve a minimum of 24 hours in jail, while first-time offenders in Virginia are fined a minimum of $250 and will have their driving licenses revoked for one year.

And if you get a DUI your auto insurance options will be extremely limited. And expensive. James Stewart, a State Farm insurance agent, notes that in California, a State Farm driver who is convicted of a DUI has a 99% chance of getting dropped. State Farm will also not insure someone with a DUI conviction for 10 years from the conviction date. “And in instances where State Farm will continue to insure the person convicted of DUI, that person could be looking at his or her rates at least tripling,” says Stuart.

So, even if you’ve eaten a big meal and are spacing your drinks out throughout the evening, ask yourself if one more drink is worth the spectrum of chaos that potentially awaits you if you drink and drive. You may be physically able to handle another drink, but you probably shouldn’t.

We’re scouring the Internet to uncover interesting questions that people have posted looking for advice from the unwashed masses. We will contact experts to give you well-researched, professional advice. You can also submit questions to autos_qotd@yahoo.com.