Los Angeles DUI Attorney BlogPolice Arrest Drivers with High BACs
Drivers arrested for DUI in Los Angeles usually have a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or higher. But there are times when a DUI suspect’s BAC measures much higher—so high that you wonder how they ever managed to even get behind the wheel of a vehicle, much less drive it.
In Henrico County, Virginia, 44-year-old Angela Gittings faces DUI charges after she hit several vehicles outside an area high school. Police measured her blood alcohol content at 0.38, more than four times the legal limit. Gittings was also driving without a license; the DMV had revoked it because of previous DUIs.
According the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a BAC of 0.31 to 0.45 poses a “significant risk of death in most drinkers due to suppression of vital life functions.” People with this level of alcohol may lose consciousness and/or suffer from life-threatening alcohol poisoning.
The NIAAA also states that a BAC reading of 0.16 to 0.30 significantly impair a person’s speech, memory, coordination, attention, reaction time and balance. It also has a very negative impact on a person’s driving-related skills, judgment and decision making.