Woman arrested with BAC of .708!

CBiebel · Dec 31, 2009

This woman was found passed out (no surprise there!) behind the wheel of a stolen truck. They said that this is the highest BAC ever recorded in South Dakota (I don't know of any other higher anywhere else, FWIW):

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_9d4a1d0e-f4d1-11de-8edf-001cc4c002e0.html

socpsy · Dec 31, 2009

Googling "highest recorded BAL" yielded several sources that claim the highest recorded BAL by a hospital is .74.

Don't know the original source for this data point, so take it FWIW.

fatbloke · Dec 31, 2009

dunno if that's high or not, here the legal max is measured as 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 ml's of "breath" - you get the "blow" test on the roadside, which gives the copper enough to arrest on suspicion, then they use the main machine at the local nick to obtain prosecution level evidence.

Then, if you do get knocked down, the driving ban is a minimum of 12 months (usually higher, and dependant on how much over the limit you were) and the smallest fine I've heard of is in the region of £500. Oh and once you've served the ban, the conviction stays on your licence for 10 years so the price of your car insurance goes through the roof as well!

I believe that the UK limit is one of the higher ones in Europe. Some states have a 0% limit. Though whether they're as keenly enforced as they are here, is anyone's guess.......

hey ho!, where's the bloody bar ;D

Medsen Fey · Dec 31, 2009

0.708 is extremely high!

In most states in the U.S. the legal limit for driving is 0.08-0.1. A blood alcohol reading 0.08 is 80 mg/dL. Non-alcoholics will be visibly drunk at around 0.15. College kids who binge drink can actually die from respiratory failure at levels below 0.4. Of the cases of fatal ingestion of alcohol, the average level if about 0.4.

It is a miracle this woman survived, and strong testament to her alcohol tolerance based on her prior attempts to try to live in a liquid medium.

Medsen

AToE · Dec 31, 2009

How the hell does someone get that drunk? I've never heard of someone managing to remain conscious past about 0.35! Yikes.

akueck · Dec 31, 2009

I thought people die at around 0.4-0.5! Two drinks on an empty stomach and I'm plowed, I can imagine drinking what must have been a few gallons of wine. I hope this woman is never allowed near a vehicle again, except perhaps a taxi.

TheTooth · Dec 31, 2009

How did she survive that? I'm trying to figure out how you even get that much alcohol into your blood stream. Was she guzzling bottles of everclear?

Honestly, I'm wondering if their test got botched somehow. LOL

wildoates · Dec 31, 2009

It makes me sick to even THINK about it, and I've never been hungover. Ooof.

She's lucky she's not seriously DEAD.

andrewschwab · Dec 31, 2009

Oooooooo South Dakota, I love that place, one of the only states that has drive through liquor stores8)

DarkStar · Dec 31, 2009

If you really want you Blood Alcohol level to get that high just go for a multiple day bender like for a week or two. Body gets adjusted to the alcohol over the course of a few days, more than likely been working on that since Christmas season. Cant get a hangover if you never sober up.

Dan McFeeley · Dec 31, 2009

In the emergency room where I work, I've seen people with BAC of .50, even .60, and these people were walking and talking. Others on our staff recall levels of over .70.

Folks, don't even think you can do this. High BAC levels like this are an indicator of alcoholism. Only an alcoholic could drink like that, and live. The average person, i.e., non-alcoholic, dies at levels of .35, and passes out before that. I've seen reports of deaths at lower levels than .35 so much depends on the individual.

--

skunkboy · Jan 1, 2010

Drunks do build up an alcohol tolerance, even while killing off their livers...

dr9 · Jan 1, 2010

Human body has 8-10 pints of blood.

For 10% BAC, that's .8 to 1 pint of alcohol. 1 quart of 80 proof will get you there, depending how fast you drink it and how fast you metabolize it.

Dan McFeeley · Jan 1, 2010

Metabolism rate is basically the same for everyone, between 20 and 25 points per hour. I did an informal survey once, collected rates for various patients and came up with an average of 23 points per hour. Or, to make it easier, the average person will process one standard drink per hour, one 12 ounce bottle of beer, one 4 ounce class of wine, one shot of hard liquor.

So, for intoxicated patients brought to an emergency room, if the patient is someone with an alcoholic's tolerance, unless a responsible adult can take charge they're going to be in the ER for a long time.

--

wildoates · Jan 1, 2010

I was at a party last night and there were several people drinking, and while nobody got completely toasted, a few were feeling fairly well by the end of the evening--but by the time things wrapped up and we were crashing by about 3 AM, everyone seemed pretty sober and nobody felt worse for the wear when we started waking up 7-8ish (most of us spent the night at a huge house out in the country). Quite a bit of various alcoholic beverages were consumed, but NOBODY even came CLOSE to this woman (we're not alcoholics, either). I can't imagine how much she had to drink to have a BAC that high. It boggles.

AToE · Jan 2, 2010

Timing is an issue of course, I know a guy who drank 24 beers in a row and kept his BA below the legal limit by just having 1 an hour.

Sometimes it seems like there are other variables in play too, but I'm not sure what. I've had days where I get tipsy off 1 beer and quasi-drunk after 2 or 3, and days where I can have 10 or 12 and be just inching past tispy... and food doesn't seem to be the variable.

akueck · Jan 2, 2010

Sleep is a huge variable, at least for me. If I'm tired it takes like 1 beer before I feel it, but if I'm well-rested I can have several and not notice. Food is also huge, I went out after my qual exam and ate a giant burger. Even after 6 or 7 beers I wasn't even tipsy. And if I was ever exhausted, it was then! For food though, the protein content is important. More protein = longer in your stomach = slower drunk. Thus the cow sandwich.

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