Physical & Mental Impairment
Drinking even a slight amount of alcohol can impair your physical and mental faculties. The extent of impairment will depend on your blood alcohol concentration (BAC), or the percent of alcohol in your blood stream. Several factors contribute to a person’s BAC, including:
Amount of Alcohol
You Consume
Time Period Over Which You Consume It
Your Weight and Biological Gender
Whether You Have Taken Medication

Different State, Same Laws
• In every state, you are deemed to be legally impaired with a BAC of 0.08%, and you cannot drive.
• If you are a commercial driver, the legal limit is 0.04%. Most states also have “zero tolerance” laws.
• If you are under the legal drinking age of 21 in those states, you cannot drive with any trace of alcohol in your blood, or a BAC as low as 0.01%.
• Of course, in our view, the only safe BAC level for driving is 0.00% – no matter who you are!
Beer
Amount: 12 oz.
ABV*: 4.5%
More: 16 oz. cup of beer = 1.4 drinks
Wine
Amount: 5 oz.
ABV*: 12%
More: 12 oz. glass of wine = 2.9 drinks
Cocktail
Amount: 1.5 oz.
ABV*: 40%
Cocktail (i.e. margarita) = 2-4 drinks
Physical & Mental Effects of Drinking Alcohol
The effects of alcohol vary among individuals because of many factors and may be different for the same person at different times. The BACs shown are solely for illustrative purposes, and do not reflect the interaction of alcohol with prescription, over-the-counter, or illegal drugs. Mixing any drug with alcohol can be dangerous to you and to others. You should never drink and drive.