Alcohol Metabolism Rate and Your DUI

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to “get drunk” faster than others? Or how some people “hold their liquor” better? The answer lies in understanding what it means to metabolize alcohol.

This can be confusing, especially if you’re facing a driving under the influence (DUI) charge or trying to avoid one. Even a single drink can impair your driving ability. Learn how to stay safe.

Below, you can learn about the concept of alcohol metabolism rates, blood alcohol levels, and how they relate to DUI charges. But every DUI case is different. Get advice from a local DUI defense attorney if you were arrested and charged with drunk driving.

Driving Under the Influence

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a significant problem in the United States. As such, state laws generally treat drunk driving as a criminal offense.

Drunk driving is a serious crime with severe consequences. You face driver’s license suspension, hefty fines, and probation, even if no injuries occur. You will likely have to perform community service and undergo substance abuse education and treatment. Your auto insurance costs will spike.

Many states will require you to install an ignition interlock device in your vehicle. This device uses a breath test to ensure you cannot start your car if you have any alcohol in your system.

Legal Limit for DUI

The “legal limit” refers to the amount of alcohol metabolites in a person’s blood. This is your blood alcohol content or blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

Chemical tests measure your BAC, either by a blood test, a urine test, or a breath test. Officers may have you perform field sobriety tests as well. Law enforcement conducts these tests at the time of your arrest or within two hours.

In the U.S., the BAC limit is 0.08% in all states except Utah. Utah is the only state that has adopted a 0.05% per se limit for blood alcohol concentration. You are per se under the influence of alcohol if your BAC is at your state’s legal limit or greater. Per se intoxication means the prosecution doesn’t need to provide additional evidence of your impairment.

In many states, you can get arrested on a drunk driving charge even if your BAC is below the legal limit when you appear intoxicated. Of course, this doesn’t refer to being under the influence of illegal or prescription drugs.

If you are under the legal drinking age, you face arrest if a police officer finds any amount of alcohol in your system. These “zero tolerance” laws are present in all 50 states.

How Many Drinks Until I Reach the Legal Limit?

There isn’t a magic number, unfortunately. When you consume an alcoholic beverage on an empty stomach, 20% to 30% of the alcohol gets absorbed into your blood through the walls of your stomach relatively quickly. It does not have to undergo digestion, like food, to enter your bloodstream. The remaining alcohol moves to your small intestine, where it is further absorbed. If you have food in your stomach, this will slow the alcohol absorption rate.

Alcohol affects your central nervous system. Even one drink can affect your coordination, slowing your response time and movements. You can feel drowsy and have trouble making decisions. All these factors make it dangerous to operate a motor vehicle.

How Long Does Being Drunk Last?

Alcohol metabolizes or burns off at about one average drink per hour. This rate is pretty standard regardless of your weight. So the more you drink, the longer you’ll need to wait. You’ll be unable to drive for as long as it takes for your BAC levels to drop below the legal limit again.

Does the Alcohol Metabolism Rate Differ?

In general, people’s bodies don’t process alcohol at significantly different rates. While certain medical conditions can make it harder to process alcohol, other factors like body weight and gender don’t speed it up.

What differs is how a person’s BAC rises while drinking. A smaller woman will typically have her BAC increase more quickly and with less alcohol than a larger man. For a man, it may take five or more drinks in an hour to reach a BAC of 0.08%, whereas it may only take two or three drinks for a woman.

While you can control the amount of alcohol you consume, you cannot control how fast it passes out of your system. No amount of coffee, food, or water will “sober you up” quickly.

Factors That Affect Alcohol Absorption

Most experts agree on several factors that affect a person’s absorption rate. Here are some factors to consider:

• Food: If you drink on an empty stomach, you may get drunk more quickly. Food helps slow down the absorption rate. Consider eating high-protein foods before drinking to slow the rate of absorption.
• Type of alcohol consumed: Not all drinks are equal. Hard liquor drinks such as vodka and whiskey have a higher alcohol concentration than beer. A typical glass of wine will have more alcohol than a 12-ounce can of beer. Avoid having more than one drink per hour.
• Gender: Alcohol affects women more quickly than men in many cases. Women have only about half as much of the enzymes used to metabolize alcohol compared to men.
• The proportion of body fat to muscle mass: Blood alcohol concentration is intensified in people with more body fat. Fat tissue is extremely low in water content and can’t absorb alcohol. Therefore, the alcohol remains in the bloodstream until the liver can break it down. However, tissues with higher water content, such as muscle and the brain, do absorb alcohol. That means BAC can be higher in a person with more body fat than one with more muscle mass who has consumed the same amount.
• Alcohol consumption rate: The faster you drink, the more quickly your BAC will rise. It will also take more time for your body to metabolize the alcohol.

Get an Attorney to Evaluate Your DUI/DWI Case

Getting arrested for a DUI can be a life-changing event. Depending on your local statutes, you may also be arrested for “driving while intoxicated” (DWI), “operating under the influence” (OUI), or “operating while intoxicated” (OWI).

Whether this is your first or third DUI arrest, an experienced legal professional will help you get the best outcome possible. A defense attorney can challenge the Breathalyzer test. They may have other strategies for your defense. Learn more by contacting a DUI attorney near you.