Drinking alcohol changes your judgment, how your body reacts in addition slowing you as you drive and you must remember this all the time especially if you are planning to travel to the U.S or you live there. When you have adequate knowledge on DUI law and more facts on drunk-driving in the States, you will be in a better position to keep yourself and other road users safe in addition to being on the right-hand side of the law. The following are all you need to know on legal alcohol limit and DUI.
DUI (driving under the influence) refers to driving after taking alcohol or using other substances which might be legal or illegal and are likely to impair your sound judgment. When it comes to alcohol the government has laid down a legal limit beyond which a driver will be declared unfit to drive. However, it is worth noting that even a small quantity of alcohol can affect your judgment and ability to drive and that is why you should avoid drinking entirely if you intend to drive.
The legal alcohol limit in the United States is the same as that of UK. The US law stipulates that drunk-driving occurs when an individual drive a vehicle while having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 grams per dl or more. At BAC concentrations beyond this limit you are considered a potential risk to yourself and other road users.
Drunk driving affect the ability to drive in the following ways. When you drink and drive, it will take longer for the brain to receive sensory information and messages from the eye. The way processing of information takes place also becomes difficult, and this delays the instructions to the body’s muscles and subsequently lead to slower reaction times.
When you drink and drive, you are also likely to develop double and blurred vision, and that means you will fail to see things as they are. The other thing that alcohol does is that it unlocks repressed urges which makes it more likely that the driver will take dangerous risks while driving.
When you drink and drive, you are likely to make irrational decisions on the road which could lead to accidents and fatalities for all the people on that road. That explain why DUI is considered a highly serious offense with severe penalties in a bid to reduce drunk drivers on the road.
There is a slight difference on DUI penalties in different states, but seemingly all seem to agree on the legal driving alcohol limit. In general, drivers who are found guilty of drunk driving will have to part with costly fines and high legal fees.