What is BAC?
Tuesday, May 10, 2022
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What is BAC?
How is BAC measured?
How can BAC affect your body?
BAC level effects
The number of drinks above represents the approximate amount of alcohol that a man weighing eleven and a half stone would need to drink in one hour to reach the listed BAC in each category. A standard alcoholic drink is a 330ml bottle of beer (ABV 5%) or 125ml glass of wine (ABV 12%). If you’d like to try and cut down your consumption, read our article on how to reduce alcohol.
BAC level | Standard alcoholic drinks | Typical general effects | Likely effects on driving |
0.2‰ BAC | Two | Some loss of judgement, relaxation, slight body warmth, altered mood | Decline in visual functions (rapid tracking of moving target) and ability to perform two tasks at the same time (divided attention) |
0.5‰ BAC | Three | Exaggerated behaviour, loss of small-muscle control (e.g. focusing eyes), impaired judgement, lowered alertness, release of inhibition | Reduced coordination, reduced ability to track moving objects, difficulty steering, reduced response to emergency driving situations |
0.8‰ BAC | Four | Poor muscle coordination (e.g. balance, speech, vision, reaction time, hearing), difficulty detecting danger, impaired judgement, self-control, reasoning and memory | Loss of concentration, short-term memory loss, impaired speed control, reduced information processing capability (e.g. signal detection, visual search), impaired perception |
1.0‰ BAC | Five | Clear deterioration of reaction time and control, slurred speech, poor coordination, slowed thinking | All of the above plus reduced ability to maintain lane position and brake appropriately |
1.5‰ BAC | Seven | Far less muscle control than normal, potential for vomiting, major loss of balance | All of the above and substantial impairment in vehicle control, attention to driving task, and visual and auditory processing |
The number of drinks above represents the approximate amount of alcohol that a man weighing eleven and a half stone would need to drink in one hour to reach the listed BAC in each category. A standard alcoholic drink is a 330ml bottle of beer (ABV 5%) or 125ml glass of wine (ABV 12%). If you’d like to try and cut down your consumption, read our article on how to reduce alcohol.