A reading of 0.05% Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) is the legal alcohol limit for driving in Australia. As a result, every driver should know how many drinks is 0.05 BAC. In addition, the legal penalties for driving past 0.05% are plentiful, including fines and a license suspension. Therefore, knowing how fast the BAC increase is vital. However, computing the exact number of standard drinks before reaching the limit is complicated and depends on many factors.

This article will review how to estimate the BAC per number of drinks to reach 0.05%. In addition, this article will also discuss how to compute the BAC. Excessive alcohol consumption is the most significant risk factor in roadside accidents, resulting in fatalities worldwide. Therefore, drivers are responsible for their alcohol intake and tolerance level. Moreover, individuals must monitor or be aware of their own BAC if they choose to operate a vehicle after consuming alcohol.

How Many Drinks is 0.05 – What is BAC

Every individual has different reactions and tolerance to alcohol. A person may feel the effects 15 to 45 minutes after drinking. Many factors can influence the blood alcohol levels like weight, gender, age, body mass index, food intake, and medications. Thus, two people consuming the exact amount and type of alcohol are unlikely to have the same BAC. Additionally, it is difficult to assess how many drinks is 0.05 and the effects of alcohol without a measuring instrument.

Moreover, the liver can process one standard drink in one hour. As a result, an average person’s BAC drops at an estimated 0.015 or 0.15g of alcohol /100ml per hour. It is also affected by many factors. Therefore, there is no standard measure of how many drinks a person can take to reach 0.05% BAC. The alcohol levels in beverages and their effects on people may vary depending on the circumstances and body chemistry.

One thing is sure: the higher the BAC, the higher the level of intoxication and impairment. Many drivers ask how many drinks is 0.05 to avoid legal repercussions and further sensory impairment. Unfortunately, there is no definite answer. Higher BAC levels drastically affect a person’s ability to drive. Rising BAC levels are associated with higher health risks and severely impaired senses and coordination.

Effects of BAC Levels of 0.02% to 0.08%

0.02% BAC

• Slightly impaired vision
• Likelihood of mood swings
• Slightly increased body temperature
• Ease and relaxation

0.05% BAC

• Decreased rate of response
• Increased vision impairment
• Slightly exaggerated behaviour
• Slight impairment of hand-eye coordination
• Slight ‘brain fog’

0.08% BAC

• Lowered concentration
• Reduced information processing ability
• Impaired self-control
• Short-term memory loss
• Further impairment of coordination and balance

How Many Drinks is 0.05 – What is a Standard Drink

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) defines a standard drink as containing a minimum of 12.5ml pure alcohol. Nonetheless, a standard drink should never be confused with a serving of alcohol. For instance, a glass of wine is typically 150 ml, but one standard drink equals 100 ml of wine. As a result, two glasses of wine are equal to 3 standard drinks. This equation helps answer the question, ‘How many drinks is 0.05%?’

To calculate alcohol in a standard drink, one must take note of the alcohol volume percentage. This would involve an equation involving the size of the serving in ml, multiplied by the percentage of alcohol, then divided by the 12.50. To demonstrate, a glass of 150ml of wine containing 11.5% of alcohol divided by 12.50ml would equal 1.38 standard drinks. After this calculation, a person can now estimate their own BAC.

Nevertheless, one should not be too confident in this equation in finding out how many drinks is 0.05 BAC. The other half of a BAC reading is the person’s biology and how it reacts to alcohol. As previously stated, there are many factors to consider concerning blood alcohol levels. Any method hoping to measure BAC accurately must significantly take these factors into consideration and detail.

Factors that Affect BAC

• Body mass index and weight – people of higher body fat and smaller stature absorb alcohol quicker
• Stomach content and hydration levels – full stomach and proper hydration slow down the body’s alcohol absorption
• Medication taken – prescription drugs may overstate BAC
• Age – the capacity of the body to metabolise alcohol slows with age

How Many Drinks is 0.05 – Methods for Computing BAC

There are many ways to get a BAC reading. These include a simple self-assessment of their own intoxication symptoms and following a drink-per-hour rule. A general method of estimation is two standard drinks in the first hour of consuming alcoholic beverages will raise a person’s BAC to 0.05%. This method claims that one standard drink per hour will maintain that level. However, such methods fail to take other factors such as the type of alcoholic drink and body reaction.

Another method for checking how many drinks is 0.05 is through an online BAC calculator or app. These programs calculate after the user answers a questionnaire. These questions include inquiries regarding a person’s weight, gender, age, and the strength and consumption of the alcoholic drink. However, such devices omit other BAC-affecting factors and medical information, such as metabolic rate and the presence and interaction of medications. Therefore the reading from these calculators is generally less reliable.

The best method for reading BAC is a personal breathalyser. These devices are the same used by police officers in routine traffic stops. In addition, these easy-to-use devices provide a precise reading of one’s BAC. Thus, it eliminates the need for estimating how many drinks is 0.05% altogether. A personal breathalyser uses advanced electrochemical sensors to give an accurate reading requiring only a single deep lung air sample from a single breath.

Advantages of a Personal Breathalyser

• Helps ensure that they are below the legal alcohol limit 0.05% BAC for operating a vehicle
• Most reliable method for BAC readings
• Helps people better understand the effects of different alcoholic beverages on their body
• Helps people know when their BAC returns to 0.00%
• Avoids excessive impairments and untoward incidents

Conclusion

There will never be a conclusive answer to how many drinks is 0.05 BAC. This is because many factors affect the result. These include the serving and alcohol content and percentage of the alcoholic beverage and certain factors in a person’s biology. Furthermore, a standard drink is not the same as a standard serving of alcohol. As a result, drink counting is not the most reliable method of knowing BAC.

In addition, most drink-calculating apps only give rough estimates. The reliability of such estimates decreases as the person consumes more alcohol. Correspondingly, a personal breathalyser is the most reliable device for determining BAC. Such portable devices provide an accurate BAC reading with a single breath sample. Breathalysers allow habitual consumers to have a clear answer on how much their BAC is after a few drinks. In conclusion, a personal breathalyser is the most reliable device for BAC monitoring.