Alcohol will effect a person well before the legal limit of intoxocation is reached. The question stands that should a person be behind the wheel with any amount of alcohol in their system? Is ‘buzzed’ driving drunk driving or legal? There has been much research showing impairment of the system beginning at amounts far below the level required to be considered guilty of drunken driving.

All 50 states have designated a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 to be the legal limit for drunk driving. Reaching this limit can vary from person to person based on a number of factors such as Size, gender, physical condition, how much you have eatten, how much sleep you have had, if you are taking any medications, and the actual alcohol content of your chosen “drink.”

A “drink” is either one shot of liquor, a five-ounce glass of wine or one beer, all of which contain the same amount of alcohol.

At a .08 BAC level, drivers are so impaired that they are 11 times more likely to have a single-vehicle crash than drivers with no alcohol in their system. But 25 years of research has shown that some impairment begins for both males and females even after one drink. .02 BAC Level At the .02 blood alcohol concentration level, experiments have demostrated that people exhibit some loss of judgment, begin to relax and feel good. But tests have also shown that drivers at the .02 level experience a decline in visual functions, affecting their ability to track a moving object, and experience a decline in the ability to perform two tasks at the same time.

But tests have also shown that drivers at the .02 level experience a decline in visual response affecting their ability to track a moving object, and experience a decline in the ability to perform two tasks at the same time. This level also might also experience lightheadedness. These changes may be very subtle and barely noticable to the person who has had only one drink, but in an emergency situation while behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, they could cause the driver to react (or not react) as they would without having had a drink.

.05 BAC Level At the .05 BAC level, people begin to exhibit exaggerated behavior, experience loss of small-muscle control — such as being able to focus their eyes quickly — have impaired judgment, lowered alertness and a release of inhibition. If someone with a BAC level of .05 gets behind the wheel, they would be operating the vehicle with reduce coordination, a futher deminished ability to track moving objects, more difficulty in steering and a markedly reduced response in emergency situations.

.05 BAC Level - At the .05 BAC level, people begin to exhibit exaggerated behavior. They may experience loss of small-muscle control such as being able to focus their eyes quickly and suffer impaired judgment, lowered alertness and a release of inhibition.

Upon reaching the borderline of the legal limit of .08, many deficiences are evident. Intoxication creates poor muscle coordination that can affect balance, speech, vision, reaction time and hearing. It is more difficult to detect dangers, and most exhibit impaired judgement, self-control, reasoning ability and memory.

For the person who is drinking, the above impairments may be hardly noticeable at the time, but the slow reaction times that they can produce could prove fatal in a emergency driving situation.

That’s why it is not a good idea to drive no matter how much or how little that you have had to drink.

For the drinker, the above impairments may be hardly noticeable at the time, but the slow reaction times that they can create could be fatal in a emergency driving situation. No matter the situation, it is not a good idea to drive no matter how much or how little that you have had to drink. Further consideration is alcohol tolerance. Alcohol affects people differently. Some people have a higher response to drinking alcohol than others. Simply put, Those drinkers with a high response to alcohol can experience signs of impairment at the .02 BAC level whereas others do not experience effects until the .05 level.

For all of these statistics, some states have changed their views on what is drunk driving. Drivers can be arrested for being impaired even if their blood alcohol concentration is lower than the legal .08 limit. If a law enforcement officer believes he has probable cause based on the behavior and reactions of the driver they can take the driver into custody. No amount of alcohol can justify the potential of harm to yourself or others and with the possibility of death or a police record, the safest bet is to pass on that drink you have to drive.