How does your BAC impact driver safety?

After drinking, the alcohol has an impact on your body. This shows in your blood alcohol content. Officers have tools to measure this content, like breath and blood tests. They use this to determine if you are over or under the legal limit. Generally speaking, this is 0.08 percent.

But how does your BAC actually impact your physical health? And just how accurately can your blood alcohol content portray your intoxication?

How accurate is your BAC?

Verywell Mind examines how your blood alcohol content (BAC) level affects your body. First, they note that alcohol impacts people in different ways. Your age, weight, gender and physical health can contribute to how quickly your body processes alcohol. Generally speaking, this means your BAC level does not actually indicate how drunk you may feel. Law enforcement only has a ballpark range of percentages and effects to work with.

How does alcohol really affect you?

For example, someone could blow a 0.08 percent but still function as though they were sober. Another person with lower tolerance could blow a 0.02 percent but behave in a much less sober way. The one who blew a 0.02 percent could struggle more with focus, attention and reacting to danger. But the person with a 0.08 percent is the one breaking the law.

What does that mean for drivers? In essence, you should never get behind the wheel no matter how drunk you feel. You could have a much higher BAC level than you think. And even if your BAC level is low, you could still get into a crash because of inebriated thought and action. This is crucial for all drivers to keep in mind.