How Much Alcohol to Reach a BAC of 0.08 DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing

How Much Alcohol to Reach a BAC of 0.08   DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing

Notes:_______________________________________________ 

How Much Alcohol to Reach a BAC of 0.08 

• • 175 lbs. Male 
• • Drinking on an Empty Stomach 

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Standardized Field Sobriety Test Course 

How much alcohol does someone have to drink to reach these kinds of BACs? 

Obviously, as we've already seen, it depends on how much time the person spends drinking, on whether the person is a man or a woman, on how large the person is, on whether the drinking takes place on an empty stomach, and on certain other factors. But let's take as an example a 175 pound man.  If he drinks two beers, or two shots of whiskey, in quick succession on an empty stomach, his BAC will climb to slightly above 

0.04. Two more beers will boost him above 0.08. One more will push him over 0.10. In one respect, then, it doesn't take very much alcohol to impair someone: "a couple of beers" can do it. 

Session 2 – Detection and General Deterrence 

Notes:_______________________________________________ 

Blood Alcohol Concentration 

What does it mean? 

• • BAC is the number of grams of alcohol found in 100 milliliters of the person’s blood 
• • Example – If a person has a BAC of .08, then there is eight one-hundredths of a gram of alcohol in every 100 milliliters of the person’s blood 

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DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing 

But in another respect, when we contrast alcohol with virtually any other drug, we find that impairment by alcohol requires a vastly larger dose than does impairment by the others. Consider exactly what a BAC of 0.08 means. Blood alcohol concentration is expressed in terms of the "number of grams of ethanol in every 100 milliliters of blood." Therefore, 0.08 means that there is 0.08 grams (g) of ethanol in every 100 milliliters (mL) of blood. You will find that BAC results are reported in a variety of units. Two common variations are milligrams/milliliters and  percent. There are 1,000 milligrams (mg) in one gram; therefore, 0.08 grams equals 80 milligrams (mg) and a BAC of 0.08 would be reported as 80 mg of ethanol/100 mL of blood.  Percent means parts per one hundred. In this example 0.08 grams/100 milliliters of blood is equivalent to 0.08 percent BAC. 

Note: The term BAC is used in the manual. However, it should be understood to refer to either Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) or Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC) depending on the legal requirements of the jurisdiction. 

Session 2 – Detection and General Deterrence 

Notes:_______________________________________________ 

Blood Alcohol Concentration 

(Cont.) 

What does it mean? 

• • BAC is the number of grams of alcohol found in 100 milliliters of the person’s blood 
• • Example – If a person has a BAC of .08, then there is eight one-hundredths of a gram of alcohol in every 100 milliliters of the person’s blood 

Standardized Field Sobriety Test Course 

Test Your Knowledge 

1. The average DWI violator commits that violation ____ times a year.

2. In typical enforcement jurisdictions one DWI violation in ____ results in arrest.

3. In the Fort Lauderdale study, police officers arrested ____ % of the drivers they contacted whose BACs were .10 to .20.

4. Name three different chemicals that are alcohols.

5. Which of these is beverage alcohol, intended for human consumption?

6. What is the chemical symbol for beverage alcohol?

7. What is the name of the chemical process by which beverage alcohol is produced naturally?

8. What is the name of the process used to produce high concentration beverage alcohol?

9. Multiple choice:   Blood alcohol concentration is the number of of alcohol in every 100 milliliters of blood.

1. • Grams 
2. • Milligrams 
3. • Nanograms 

10.True or false: Pound for pound, the average woman contains more water than does the average man. 

11.What do we mean by the "proof" of an alcoholic beverage? 

12.Every chemical that is an "alcohol" contains what three elements? 

13.True or false: Alcohol can pass directly through the stomach walls and enter the bloodstream. 

14.What is the name of the muscle that controls the passage from the stomach to the lower gastrointestinal tract? 

15.True or false:  Most of the alcohol that a person drinks is absorbed into the blood via the small intestine. 

Test Your Knowledge (Cont’d) 
16.Multiple choice:  Suppose a man and a woman who both weigh 160 pounds arrived at a party and started to drink at the same time.  And suppose that, two hours later, they both have a BAC of 0.10.  Chances are ....

1. • He had more to drink than she did. 
2. • They drank just about the same amount of alcohol. 
3. • He had less to drink than she did. 

17. In which organ of the body does most of the metabolism of the alcohol take place?

18. What is the name of the enzyme that aids the metabolism of alcohol?

19. Multiple choice:  Once a person reaches their peak BAC, it will drop at a rate of about per hour.

1. • 0.025 
2. • 0015 
3. • 0.010 
4. •

20. True or False: It takes about thirty minutes for the average 175 pound man to "burn off" the alcohol in one 12 ounce can of beer.

Participant Manual SFST – Session 3 – The Legal Environment 

Notes:_______________________________________________ 

An understanding of impaired driving laws that apply in your jurisdiction is critical to successful DWI enforcement.
All states (and many local jurisdictions) have their own impaired driving laws. While the specific language of these laws may vary significantly, most include the following provisions:

1. • Basic DWI Law 
2. • Implied Consent Law 
3. • Illegal Per Se Law 
4. • Preliminary Breath Testing Law 

Session 3 The Lega Env ronment
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Learning Objectives
Become familiar with:

1. • Elements of DWI offenses 
2. • Provisions of the implied consent law 
3. • The relevance of chemical test evidence 
4. • Precedents established through case law