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Is it Dangerous to drive if your BAC is below .08?

On Behalf of | Mar 21, 2017 | Car Accidents, DUI Law, Firm News |

Stroudsburg Drunk Driving Offenses

Pennsylvanian drivers are aware of the illegality of driving after drinking, particularly if your blood alcohol level (BAC) is .08 or higher. But what if your BAC is lower than that? Is it safe for you to drive just because you couldn’t be charged with a DUI?

The first thing to note is that, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the legal alcohol limit was lowered from .10 to .08 in 2003. However, anything below .08 is still technically not punishable, as all charges and consequences correspond with a BAC of .08 or higher.

You may think that this means driving after drinking is okay as long as you don’t “feel drunk” or believe your BAC to be lower than .08, but this is highly inadvisable. Studies have shown that you can actually hit .08 BAC long before you “feel” as though you are drunk, leading people to believe they are still okay to drive when they could in fact be charged with a DUI.

In other cases, you might not yet be at .08 BAC, but you could feel very impaired. Depending on your size, stature, weight, and other factors such as whether or not you were eating while you drank, alcohol might affect you quickly. This can result in someone feeling lightheaded, woozy, or unable to concentrate despite not quite being at .08 BAC yet.

In sort, if you drink at all, you might want to reconsider getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. Guessing wrong could end up with you getting into an accident or facing DUI charges, which might have been avoidable.

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