Imagine that you go out drinking with a friend, and the two of you have the exact same drinks. Maybe you just drink a handful of the same beers, which both of you love. Either way, you know that you consumed the exact same alcohol, in the exact same form, that they did.
On the way home, both of you get pulled over by the police. Their blood alcohol concentration comes back at 0.06%, but yours comes back at 0.08%. Now you’re facing DWI charges, and you’re confused how your BAC could have possibly been higher since you didn’t drink anymore.
The thing to remember is that drinks do not impact all people in exactly the same way. There are a lot of different factors that can change how one drink alters your BAC.
What are these factors?
The following is not an exhaustive list, but it is just a few of the factors that can change how hard the alcohol hits you and how high is your BAC rises when you have a drink:
- Your gender
- Your weight
- How often you drink
- How quickly you drink
- Your alcohol tolerance
- Medications you may be taking
For instance, it is very common for women to have a higher BAC than men when they drink the same amount of alcohol. This could have something to do with weight, as women also tend to weigh less, but it has been linked to gender regardless.
You may be surprised to find out that you were over the legal limit, but that doesn’t mean the situation is behind you. You absolutely need to know about all of your legal defense options.