Understanding Your Blood Alcohol Content

Criminal and Traffic law Court

What is (BAC) Blood Alcohol Content?

BAC (Blood Alcohol Content), sometimes referred to as BAL (Blood Alcohol Level) is the percent of alcohol present in the blood. There are various means of determining BAC. An absolute level can be obtained only by drawing a sample of blood. The most reliable estimate can be obtained via very accurate breathalyzers that take a sample of alveolar (deep lung) air. These are often used by police departments, and are considered legal evidence in a court of law. Handheld breathalyzers are less accurate, and while they are not considered legal evidence of intoxication, they can be used by police to determine probable cause to obtain a BAC that is considered legal evidence in a court of law.

The percent alcohol content of beverages varies across both beverage type and brand. Use the following general guidelines to determine the relative alcohol content of a specific alcoholic beverages:		Click for an enlarged version
Beer:	The darker the beer the more alcohol. The more bitter the beer the more alcohol.
Wine:	With the exception of Chardonnay, red wines have more alcohol than whites. The sweeter the wine the lower the alcohol content.
Liquor:	The darker the liquor the more alcohol. The sweeter the liquor the lower the alcohol content. With the exception of grain alcohol, clear liquors have about 40% alcohol.

Standard Drink Chart

Percent Alcohol by Volume

Site Designed byPrimelegal.biz