What is the legal Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) in Texas?
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The legal limit in Texas is 0.08 blood alcohol content (BAC) when you’re in public or driving. How much alcohol is that you may ask? At .08 BAC, 1/8 of 1% of your blood is actually alcohol instead of blood. The number of drinks you can consume before you reach .08 BAC varies with a number of factors, including:

  • age
  • weight
  • gender
  • metabolic rate, and
  • overall health

All of these factors play a part in your ability to tolerate alcohol consumption. For some people, a single alcoholic drink can make them drunk.

Most people can tell when they are starting to become “drunk.” But well before their BAC reaches the legal limit in Texas, alcohol has already impaired their judgment and decision-making capacity. This leads to people choosing to continue to consume alcohol.

The following blood alcohol content (BAC) ranges lead to the following behaviors:

.08 – .14 BAC: Slowed reflexes and perception, impaired decision-making ability, reduced balance and coordination.
.15-.20 BAC: Vomiting generally occurs.
.25 BAC: Driver’s vision affected by changes and reductions in the perception of color, form, motion and spatial relationships.
.30 BAC: Unconsciousness or stupor likely to occur.
.40 or above BAC: Death could occur.

In Texas, where the local bar or party scene is generally not within walking distance, those same people will often choose to drive after a night out on the town. This choice leads to huge numbers of drunk driving accidents. In fact, drunk driving accidents occur more often in Texas than any other state.

What percentage of Texas wrecks is caused by drunken drivers?

Of the 32,885 fatal traffic accidents listed by the NHTSA for 2010, 10.228 (31%) were reported as the result of drunken drivers.

  • Texas had the largest number of alcohol-related wrecks with 2,998 (more than 25%)
  • California had the second-highest total, with 2,715
  • Florida had 2,445
  • Pennsylvania had 1,324
  • North Carolina had 1,319
  • New York saw 1,200
  • Ohio had 1,080, and
  • Tennessee saw 1,031 drunk driving wrecks in 2010

These numbers represent both injury accidents and fatal accidents.

Our Houston auto accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC reply that Texas reports almost 25% of all fatal drunk driving accidents in the United States, with more than 2,000 such crashes in a single year. Harris County has the largest number of drunk driving accidents in Texas almost every year. The bulk of the fatal wrecks occur in the wee hours of the morning or on weekends.

Binge Drinking and Higher BAC Content

LifeLoc Technologies, a maker of breathalyzer devices, has some very good information on its website about the effects of alcohol in the body. The website warns that when you have a BAC of over .45%, you will most likely die.

Binge drinkers, for example weekend partiers, often consume alcoholic drinks at a much faster rate than the body can metabolize them. So their BAC rapidly increases. And as BAC reaches higher levels, they generally become unable to judge their impairment level or even remember where they are.

For instance, two men in Iowa this past New Year’s week were arrested with BAC levels over .40%. One was found by police in his basement after a car wreck, conversing with people that weren’t there. Click the link to read about their high BAC levels and arrests for intoxication.

High BACs are Life Threatening even when the Drinker doesn’t Drive

A BAC between .30% and .40% is extremely life threatening. The person with that high of a BAC will likely have very little comprehension regarding where they are or what’s going on. They might pass out suddenly and find it extremely difficult to awaken again. They might slide into complete unconsciousness or even into a coma. This is same level to which they put you under in surgical anesthesia, with the difference being that surgical anesthesia is monitored and controlled by a trained professional. Death could occur when a person has a BAC between .30% and .40%.

High BAC levels won’t keep a person from driving. The two men in Iowa with BAC levels above .40% had been driving. Such intoxicated drivers are extremely dangerous and can easily crash into other vehicles or pedestrians, causing serious injuries or deaths.

Contact the Experienced Houston Injury Accident Attorneys at Denena Points, PC to report your Injury from a Drunken Driver

The Houston injury accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC understand your need for experienced legal help after suffering such a crash. We provide a completely free initial legal consultation, without obligation, to discuss the accident and evaluate your possibilities for a full financial recovery for your needless injuries. Put our more than 12 years of experience successfully resolving complex personal injury and wrongful death cases to work for your benefit.

Get the help you need now!

Call us at 713-807-9500 or reach us anytime through our convenient online contact form.