South Carolina residents like you who hit the town to enjoy some drinks every now and then may feel as though you have a good grasp on when you become “too drunk to drive”. You may be surprised to know that this isn’t often the case.
FindLaw takes a look at a few surprising facts. First of all, you can still drive impaired even if your blood alcohol content (BAC) level is below 0.08 percent, which is the legal limit. This is because different people react to alcohol in different ways. Two beers could be enough to make you feel totally impaired, while a friend may have five and still feel sober.
Relatedly, how you “feel” and your actually BAC level won’t always align, either. As the FindLaw article mentioned, you could still behave like an impaired driver even if your BAC is below the legal drinking limit, just because of how your body processes alcohol. It works the other way, too. Though you may feel like you’re entirely sober, your BAC level may actually be .08 percent or above.
It should be noted that we often aren’t great judges of our own sobriety, too. It’s very easy for someone to feel like they’re drunk, or feel like they’re sober, but actually have a BAC level that reflects the opposite. For this reason, it’s best not to drive after having any drinks.
However, people sometimes make mistakes. If you are currently facing a DUI charge, consider speaking with an attorney who can help you out with your situation.
