Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Kane County DUI Attorney

In Illinois, “Driving Under the Influence” is defined as operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol, other drugs or intoxicating compounds and methamphetamine. A driver is legally considered to be under the influence if he has a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher, has used any illegal substance, or is impaired by medication. A driver’s BAC is based on the ratio of alcohol to blood or alcohol to breath. However, an individual with a BAC between .05 and .08 may be convicted of DUI if additional evidence determines that the driver was impaired. In 1997, the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation to lower the illegal BAC limit from .10 to .08. Illinois was the 15th state to impose such a change. All 50 States now impose such limitations.

The effect of alcohol on an individual is determined primarily by two factors: the amount of alcohol consumed and the rate at which the alcohol is absorbed by the body. There are many other contributing factors including the gender, body weight, alcohol tolerance, mood, environment and the amount of food consumed by the individual. When you consume your first drink of alcohol, the alcohol affects coordination and judgment. BAC below the legal threshold of.08 can cause a person’s reaction time to slow. The risk of being in a crash rises with a BAC between .04 and .05 and increases rapidly thereafter. By the time a driver reaches a BAC of .06, the driver is twice as likely to be involved in a fatal crash as a non-drinking driver. Studies have shown that by the time a driver reaches a BAC of .08, he is 11 times more likely to be killed in a single-vehicle crash than a non-drinking driver. There is no magic formula to eliminate the alcohol from your system. The body eliminates the alcohol at a specific rate. The only way to rid the body of alcohol is time. Fresh air, coffee, a shower and food does not make a person sober. The standard time is it takes around one hour for the body to metabolize one drink and eliminate it from your system. Each of the following has a comparable amount of alcohol and counts as one drink: one 12-ounce mug of beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine or one 1.5-ounce shot of hard liquor. Contact your Kane County DUI Attorney.

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