There are sometimes cases where a driver is arrested for being under the influence of alcohol, and they insist that, while they did consume alcohol earlier in the day, it has been long enough that they should no longer have an elevated blood alcohol concentration. They may have deliberately waited to drive, knowing that they wanted their BAC to go down.
Often, the mistake is simply that the driver is not actually checking their own BAC, and they do not understand how slowly it declines. For most people, the rate of decline is just 0.015 percent every hour.
In other words, if someone had a BAC of 0.06 percent, they would still need four hours to get back down to zero – and they would not have even been over the legal limit to begin with. Someone who is well over that limit may need substantially longer for their BAC to fall. A driver who waited for half an hour at the bar before getting behind the wheel did not give their body enough time to metabolize the alcohol.
Can this metabolic rate be changed?
Generally, no, there is nothing you can do to increase the metabolic rate and cause your BAC to go down faster. Some people will do things to try to sober up, like taking a cold shower or drinking a cup of coffee. But these things generally just wake a person up, making them feel more alert. They do not actually change that person’s BAC.
In some cases, even going to sleep is not enough. Drivers will sometimes get pulled over the next morning, and they will be shocked to learn that they still have an elevated BAC. But they just have not given their body enough time.
DUI defense options
Have issues like this caused you to be arrested on DUI charges? This can lead to a license suspension, jail time, fines and other ramifications, so it is critical that you understand what your defense options are.