How Many Drinks Will Get You A DUI? (Chart)

Do you know how many drinks you can have before you're in danger of getting a drunken driving violation?

When police pull drivers over for suspected drunken driving, officers ask them to perform field sobriety tests and to take a breath test to measure Blood Alcohol Content. A BAC test measures the percentage of alcohol present in a person's bloodstream. In Michigan .08 is the legal limit.

And in Livingston County, chances are if you choose to drive, you'll be caught with local law enforcement agencies supplying extra road patrols to specifically watch for drunk drivers during the holidays.

"If people choose to drink and drive, and get behind the wheel, then we're going to address those issues," Livingston County Sheriff Bob Bezotte told Patch in November. "But we also need to address continued education of the negative aspect of drunk driving. There's nothing worse for us to get on the scene and see that people are injured or killed because of negligence of a drunk driver - that's been one of my pet peeves my whole career."

According to the Virginia Tech Alcohol Abuse Prevention website, every 40 minutes, 0.01 percent of alcohol leaves your system. Take a look at the attached charts to see how many is too many to get behind the wheel, based on your gender, height and weight.

However, police still can arrest someone who falls short of registering a .08 if their driving ability is clearly impaired by having consumed alcohol.

As the chart indicates, a .00 is the only "safe" driving limit.

Options available to avoid drunken driving

• Don’t drink and drive.
• Plan a safe way home before festivities begin.
• Designate your sober driver before the party starts.
• If you’re impaired, call a taxi, sober friend or family member, or use public transportation (many local bars will call for cab services).
• If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact local law enforcement.
• If you know someone who is about to drive while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to their destination safely.