It is now well known that alcohol and traffic do not go together and that the body needs a long time to break down alcohol in the blood. But how much alcohol is actually in a glass and how long does the body really need to break it down?
Alcohol percentage per drink
The percentage of alcohol in a drink can vary greatly, from about 5% in a beer to, for example, 50% in Gold Strike or other spirits. Below is an overview of the alcohol percentage per drink of many drinks consumed:
- Beer: 5%
- Wine: 12%
- Breezer: 4%
- Smirnoff Ice: 4%
- Flugel: 10%
- Distilled wine: 35%
- Sherry / Port: 15%
- Genever: minimum 35%
- Vodka: 35 to 70%
- Whiskey: about 45%
Alcohol by the glass
Despite the large differences in alcohol percentage, a normal ‘standard glass’ of all drinks contains in principle the same amount of alcohol. For example, beer (5% alcohol) is usually served in a glass of 200ml (10ml alcohol), wine (approximately 12%) in glasses of 100ml (12ml) and spirits (35%) in glasses of 35ml (12ml). As long as these standard glasses are adhered to, there will be hardly any difference in the total amount of alcohol you ingest from 10 beers or 10 shot glasses of spirits.
The big but, however, is that consuming a large amount of spirits quickly increases the amount of alcohol in the blood, making the person less aware that they are getting drunk quickly. Spirits are also often drunk in larger glasses than what may be called a standard glass. With mixed drinks it can also quickly happen that a glass contains (much) more alcohol than a standard glass. These are also often mixes that are made very sweet, so that the drinker is less aware that they contain a lot of alcohol.
Drinking from something other than a glass can also make a big difference in the total alcohol per unit. For example, a bottle of beer already contains one and a half standard glasses of alcohol and half a liter even contains 2.5 standard glasses.
Blood alcohol level
How much alcohol is in the drinker’s blood naturally depends on the number of glasses consumed. But the weight of the person also plays an important role, the lighter / smaller the person, the higher the alcohol content for the same number of glasses of alcohol. In principle, the amount of alcohol in the blood decreases over time, but when consuming a large amount of alcohol it may also be that the blood alcohol level increases for a few hours, because the alcohol is only absorbed into the blood later. The person’s eating pattern can also influence this. Below you will find two tables with one rough indication what per mille of alcohol there is in the blood for a stated number of standard glasses. An example is given for a person of 60 kilograms and 80 kilos.
Blood alcohol level for a person weighing 60 kilos |
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Glasses | after 2 hours | 3 hours | 4 hours |
2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0 |
3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
4 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
5 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
6 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.9 |
7 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.1 |
8 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.4 |
9 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.2 |
10 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 1.9 |
Blood alcohol level for a person weighing 80 kilos |
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---|---|---|---|
Glasses | after 2 hours | 3 hours | 4 hours |
2 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0 |
4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
5 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
7 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
8 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.9 |
9 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.1 |
10 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.3 |
Alcohol in traffic
It is generally known that it is undesirable and even forbidden to drive in traffic with alcohol. Since 2006, the rules regarding the permitted alcohol content have been further tightened. A novice driver may have a maximum of 0.2 percent alcohol in his blood in traffic. The term novice driver includes all drivers who have held their driving license for less than 5 years.
In front of advanced drivers (ie longer than 5 years in possession of the driving license) a maximum permillage of 0.5 applies as maximum. This percentage is also valid for drivers on a bicycle or scooter / moped. In practice, however, a traffic ticket is rarely issued for drunk cycling in traffic.
Of course, this standard was not simply set. The use of alcohol quickly has a significant impact on road safety. For example, the chance of an accident would have doubled with 4 glasses and consuming 8 glasses would increase the chance of an accident by no less than 17 times! Getting caught with too much alcohol is therefore not considered a violation but felony seen. Fines can be high, your driver’s license can be recovered and with a percentage higher than 1.3 the driver even has to follow the Educational Measure Alcohol, entirely at his own expense.