Driving while intoxicated is a crime at every stage, and many have extremely strict laws about the blood alcohol limit that a person may have while on the road.
Some might believe that they can tell when they are still “under the limit.” But is this true?
What does intoxication feel like?
The Sunrise House Treatment Center discusses the stages of intoxication. This starts with sobriety and has the potential to end in death. In order, the stages include euphoria, excitement, confusion, stupor and coma.
Many people drink to within the first two or three stages, though it is not uncommon to drink beyond that point. Additionally, each person will feel differently at each stage of intoxication depending on factors like the alcohol consumed, or the health, age or weight of the person drinking.
BAC does not necessarily reflect feelings
However, even if a person may feel more sober or able to drive, this does not actually tell them what their blood alcohol content is.
This means that situations may exist where a person feels safe to drive, but they are actually already over the limit. On the other hand, someone may feel incredibly intoxicated, but their BAC level is actually below the legal limit.
Because of these differing factors that are hard to predict, it is better for a person to simply stay off the road for a while even if they only have one drink. This is a good way to avoid the possibility of crashing due to unexpected intoxication or getting arrested for a high BAC level.