Just wanted to continue this thread because of a personal experience that happened 7 months ago in the Bronx. I got through 5 bottles of coors lite in a space of 2 hours and about 20 minutes. After leaving the bar, I walked to my car and noticed a chevvy caprice at the traffic light. I drove away and just as I was about to enter the Cross Bonx Expressway, the same chevvy flashed its siren lights and told me to pull over. 2 cops walked over and one asked for my licence. He explained that they noticed my car swerving. This was a COMPLETE lie because the only thing they saw was a 35 yr old white guy leaving his local bar at 4am. Despite their hostile attitude, I bit my tongue, kept my composure, and answered all their questions politely. But they pushed the breatkalyzer (aka intoxalyzer) into the window and told me to blow. This despite the fact that I spoke coherently, looked and felt totally sober.
5 minutes later they returned from their vehicle and it looked like an arrest was imminent. But they asked me to blow asecond time...."this time take a deep breath and blow hard". Again, I complied, although not exactly as instructed (no deep breath and a weak effort). 2 minutes later I had my licence back and was told to drive safe. No ticket issued so what happened to the 'swerving dangerously' allegation.I would LOVE to know my BAC reading. Was tempted to ask but the sense of relief prompted a quick departure. Are police obligated to divulge results at the actual scene? They looked disappointed with the outcome. Perhaps the first test was borderline and they felt that my BAC level was still rising??? I doubt it was anywhere close to a DWI (.10 in NY at that time). I've also heard from other NY city cops that DUI arrests on a bac between .05 and .075 are rare unless there are other indicators of intoxication. So its possible, I tested .07 Buts thats just conjecture.
Anyone care to guess my reading?
5 beers in 2.5 hour timeframe Weight 165 lbs 35 yr Male - social drinker - never more than 6 beers Ate a normal sized meal that particular evening. Alcohol also forces my bladder to work overtime. I must have pee'd about 4 times during those 5 beers.On Mon, 26 May 2003, Von Fourche wrote: } }Sorry if this question is unwelcome. Maybe you don't talk about getting }drunk here, but I don't know what other board to post it on.
Maybe alt.alcohol, or alt.drunken.bastards? :-)
} Ok, I'm curious, how many bottles of beer (like Budweiser) does it take }to get you drunk? }I don't drink all that often. So I start to stumble after three bottles of }beer. I'm curious, what effect does the first bottle have on you? Then the }second? Then the third? etc... I'm talking about average size and age man, }not women. I never drink and drive. But I'm worried, I think I should be }able to drink more than three beers and keep my wits about me. But after }three I am pretty much gone or on my way. } }Thanks
It really depends on what you mean by "drunk," and that depends on the interaction of a lot of factors including what you're drinking; how much you drink; how fast you drink it; whether you're male or female; how much you weigh; how much of your body-mass is fat; whether you eat while you're drinking and /what/ you eat; individual body chemistry; individual psychological profile' and how "experienced" a drinker you are.
If you're talking "legally drunk," these days that's pretty much defined by the blood alcohol content/concentration limit (BAC) for legal driving. In some states in the US that limit is 0.10 BAC, though many states either have gone, or are going to 0.08 BAC. In other places the limit is lower still (0.05 in the Netherlands, for example).
For present purposes, 0.08 is as good a test point as any to use as an example. If you're a 160 pound male, three 4-5% beers (like Bud) on an empty stomach are enough to put you over the legal limit if you suck them down in less than 40 minutes. If you take an hour you're probably not quite up to 0.08, but you're probably close. Note that these are *rough* numbers, and are affected by the many things listed above.
If you mean "how many beers can I drink before I *feel* drunk and start acting stupid," that's more heavily dependent on subjective factors like your psychological makeup and your past drinking experience. The average person who's been drinking for a few years probably isn't going to feel very tipsy at 0.08, but a new or first-time drinker might.
For the more experienced drinker, the buzz will start to come on somewhere between 0.12 and 0.15 -- though given certain personality types and social situations some people can start to act silly at even lower levels. Our 160 pound male example would have to drink about 5 beers in an hour to get up around 0.12; if he takes longer to drink the beer, or if he also eats a meal with the beer his BAC will be lower.
When you get to 0.2 there's no question that you're well into being toasted, and between 0.2 and 0.25 a lot of people get sloppy. Go further than that, and you'd better have your hangover remedies handy tomorrow morning.
There are a lot of places on the web were you can see BAC charts, or calculators and figure how many beers it takes to get to a particular level -- these, too, are only intended to be rough guides. Here's one:
It is worth noting that cop sites and sites maintained by those with prohibitionist tendencies will tend to say that "the ONLY safe BAC for driving is 0.00." While I certainly do NOT advocate that anyone drive while over the legal limit, the "0.00" limit is hogwash. Hardly *anybody's* blood *ever* has a zero BAC, even if they've never had a drink in their life. Some alcohol gets into the blood stream as a part of the normal digestion of various foods; what foods, and how much depend a lot on individual chemistry. Eating a slightly over-ripe apple, for example, will nudge your BAC above zero, though you're not going to get drunk, or anywhere near 0.08, or even 0.05 just by eating apples alone.
If you plan to get plastered, the best plan is to get some good brew, stay at home, lock the car, lose the keys, and go for it.
HTH.
Dr H