Drinking and Driving is dangerous to yourself and others around you. Alcohol is a depressant; it impairs your ability to drive, slows down your reaction time and causes you to make some risky decisions that you wouldn't normally take. The penalty for Drinking and Driving is Driving Under the Influence (DUI). If your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) registers over .08, which is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, you are Driving Under the Influence.

After having one drink it takes approximately one hour for your body to burn off the alcohol. You can't depend on yourself to be able to drive after an hour because everyone processes alcohol differently and you might even feel the effects long after you've been drinking. Your BAC is based on; your body weight, how much you have had to drink, the amount of food you may have eaten before drinking, the length of time over which you have had alcohol, and the speed at which your own body processes alcohol (once again, everyone's is different). There is no way to make your body burn alcohol faster, eating food, drinking coffee, exercising, or taking a cold shower may make you feel better but they have no effect on the rate that alcohol is processed.

The following drinks all contain about .5 oz of alcohol; 12 oz of beer, 4 oz of wine, 1 oz of 80 proof liquor. However if you are under 21 it is illegal to have a BAC of .02 because many states have a zero tolerance law for drunk drivers under 21. If you are under 21 it is also illegal to purchase alcohol or transport alcohol unless accompanied by someone of the age 21 or over. It is also illegal to drive with an open container of alcohol regardless of the age. Of course the penalty would be more severe if the driver is under 21.

The penalty for Driving Under the Influence can be any combination of the following; prison sentence, fine or license suspension. The penalties can be altered depending on how much you've been drinking, past history of drinking and driving, the amount of time between your past Driving Under the Influence charges and the severity of damage if you got in an accident. If an officer suspects you of Driving Under the Influence you will be forced to pull over, perform a field sobriety test and give a breath sample. The officer must have good reasons to request the test and breath sample. If you refuse to do so it will be charged against you later if you are convicted of Driving Under the Influence.

In conclusion Driving Under the Influence not only endangers your life, but the life of others. Therefore, if you must drink don t drive and if you must drive don t drink. Also, please drink responsibly because not only may your life be at stake, but your mental capacity, as well as you physical appearance should be considered. Finally, driving is a privilege that you should not want to be taken away. However, if you ever feel that you no longer want this privilege get caught Driving Under the Influence and see how much of an inconvenience it will cause you and others.