"Drink Calculator" Graphic

If you are stopped on suspicion of drunk driving, you may be asked to take a test to determine the amount of alcohol in your blood. Such tests measure Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC).

Depending on your age or your occupation, you can be inferred under the influence in South Carolina if your BAC is as low as 0.02 percent (the legal limit for drivers under 21 years old). In most cases, the legal limit for most drivers is 0.08 BAC.

But how much alcohol is that? And what would it take to reach that BAC level? You can find out for yourself on this page featuring an informational BAC Drink Calculator. Several different factors can affect a person's BAC, including:

Drink strength * - Stronger drinks with more alcohol in them produce higher BAC readings. Mixed drinks often contain the most alcohol, followed by wine and beer. Significant variations exist even among similar drinks. Some beers are much stronger than other beers, for example. As a result, a 200-pound man would have a 0.08 BAC if he drank 5, 12-ounce beers in 2 hours with 6 percent alcohol, but would be well below the legal limit if he drank the same number of beers with 4 percent alcohol in them.
Drinking time * - The more time your body has to absorb the alcohol in your bloodstream, the lower your BAC. In the case of the 200-pound man who drank five, 12-ounce, 6-percent alcohol beers, his BAC would be 0.064 (well below the limit for most drivers) if he spent three hours instead of two hours drinking.
Gender * - Men can absorb alcohol faster than women, according to several scientific studies. That's why most drink calculators ask for the gender of the person in order to accurately calculate a person's BAC. To understand the difference between men and women, a 200-pound woman drinking five, 12-ounce, 6-percent alcohol beers like the man listed above over the course of three hours would have a BAC of 0.087, higher than the legal limit in South Carolina for all drivers.
Weight * - The more someone weighs, the lower his BAC reading will likely be compared to someone who weighs less consuming the same amount of alcohol. If a 150-pound man drank the same amount of alcohol listed above (5, 12-ounce, 6-percent alcohol beers) over a 3-hour period, that man would have a BAC of 0.102, well above the legal limit in South Carolina.

The preceding calculations are only for informational purposes. Do not use this drink calculator to gauge whether you are safe to drive after drinking alcoholic beverages. If you have been arrested for drunk driving in South Carolina, contact DUI defense attorney Matt Bodman and schedule a free consultation. Call (866) 487-9077.

* Examples included for information purposes only. Individual results may vary. Do not use drink calculator or general examples cited here to determine your actual BAC. Other factors may influence your BAC. Your safest decision is not to drink and drive.