11 Jun 2014
Most folks have heard about measurements of blood alcohol content (BAC). Sometimes, the level is measured using a blood test, but most often, it’s the result of a Breathalyzer or other breath test. The BAC issue is important in cases of alleged driving while intoxicated (DWI) because in Texas, as in most places in the country, having a BAC of 0.08 or higher puts you “over the limit”, and means that you are legally intoxicated. The standard BAC for drunk driving used to be 0.10 almost universally, but that has changed. Moreover, there have been calls recently for lowering the allowable BAC even further.
At the same time, many states have determined that penalties should be greater for those whose BAC is significantly higher than the threshold level of 0.08. As a result, almost every state in the country now has adopted laws designed to do just that. The “high BAC” level varies from one place to another, but it’s generally between 0.15 (this includes Texas) and 0.20.
Of course, the effect of a high BAC will vary from person to person. But there are times when we hear about a case where the suspect’s BAC is so high we could all agree, assuming the test was accurate, that the individual was really “hammered.” So we were intrigued by an article that appeared a few days ago involving a man arrested in Austin for DWI. Police say he had collided with another vehicle, drove off, then pulled over to the side of the road and passed out. He was taken to the hospital, where, they say, his BAC came in at 0.42 – that’s more than five times the legal limit!
As we said, the effect of a high BAC will vary from person to person, although most folks would be in a stupor or passed out at 0.30 or less. Interestingly, while the BAC in the recent Austin case was high, even higher numbers for drivers have been recorded in Iowa (0.627), Washington (0.47), and Rhode Island (0.491). The highest one we’ve heard about was in the case of a woman arrested in Oregon after she was found unconscious, with her engine runner, after her car plowed into a snow bank. She registered an astounding BAC of 0.72. We’re told that for many, a BAC of between 0.40 and 0.60 could represent a lethal dose of alcohol.
Law Office of David D. White, PLLC
1201 Rio Grande Street #200
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 369-3737