Most people will tell you that they know they shouldn’t drink and drive. But they may not mean that as literally as it sounds. Many people will be completely fine with getting in the car after having a glass of wine with dinner or a beer while they watch a football game.
So the real question is how many drinks a person will have before they decide not to drive. And when looking at it from this perspective, it’s very important to consider how much alcohol is in each drink. Not all drinks are equal, so intoxication and impairment levels can vary widely.
A standard drink
As a general rule, health experts consider a standard alcoholic drink to be:
- 12 ounces of beer at 5% alcohol
- 1.5 ounces of spirits at 40% alcohol
- 10 ounces of malt liquor at 7% alcohol
- 5 ounces of wine at 12% alcohol
In some cases, drivers are surprised to find out how high their blood alcohol concentration is. They may adamantly state that they only had two drinks and they don’t understand how it got this high during a traffic stop.
But the issue could be that they didn’t know what percentage that drink actually was. If someone thought they were drinking a beer that was 5% alcohol, but it was really a craft beer that was 10% alcohol, it’s basically like having two drinks. Those who drink spirits like gin, rum or whiskey will often say that it gets them drunk very quickly, but the reason could simply be that it is 40% alcohol. Even a small glass of spirits could be two or three standard drinks, whether or not the driver realizes it at the time.
DWI charges can have a major impact on a person’s future. Anyone facing such charges needs to know about their legal defense options.