You may be drunk, but you may not. Knowing if you're drunk will help you figure out whether or not you should drive your car – or you may or may not make yourself look stupid. There's a lot of confusing information out there; see the explanation below for a simple guide. However, if you're still in doubt, don't drive!
Step
Method 1 of 4: Detecting If You Are Really Legally Drunk
Step 1. See if you've been drinking more than one drink per hour
Every state, and even every county, has slightly different limits for what constitutes legal intoxication. Everyone is different, but as a rule of thumb, your body can process (metabolize) one drink of alcohol every hour, and then – guess what – you'll get drunk. This is the legal definition of drunkenness. Even if you don't "feel" drunk, don't even think about driving a car. Even if you feel absolutely fine to go to work or babysit, or edit wikiHow, or do anything else that requires complete control, you still shouldn't do it when you're within the legal definition of drunk.
"One drink" means one standard glass of wine, one sip of vodka, or 1 liter of beer or other alcoholic beverage
Step 2. Use an online calculator
Do you have a computer or cell phone? If you want to find out if you're legally drunk "now," check out the helpful Blood Alcohol Content (B. A. C.) calculator. One of these best calculators belongs to the University of Oklahoma. However, if you don't live in the United States, you should check online calculators for your country.
- Online calculators also take into account a significant factor: your weight. The bigger you are, the longer you will be drunk. So, a woman weighing 100 lb. (45.35 kg) who drank two bottles of beer were more likely to be drunk than the 200 lb (90.7 kg) man who drank the same two bottles of beer.
- The calculator will also probably offer more than just a selection of the standard meaning of “one drink” and give you more variables so you can really know how much you're consuming.
Step 3. Know what it means to be legally drunk
A hangover is usually defined by having a B. A. C. by 0.05-0, 10. In some countries, such as Russia, you are not allowed to drive if you have a small amount of alcohol in your body.
- It's a percentage, so if your blood contains more than 0.1% alcohol, you're legally drunk.
- A good assumption is around 0.08, but look at your legal rules.
Step 4. Use a breathalyzer
Breathalyzers are small devices that you can breathe into to calculate your B. A. C. While you may not have it right now, you can buy it at most drug stores or order it online. – I hope you don't find him at the police station. Keeping a breathalyzer in your home or car is a good idea because it can let you know if you – or your guests – can legally drive.
Don't drink a lot of alcohol before testing your B. A. C. Even if you're just having fun, it will make your B. A. C reading even higher than normal
Method 2 of 4: Taking Field Awareness Tests
Step 1. Perform the “touch nose” test
"Field Sobriety Tests" are tests law enforcement officers use to see if a suspect is drunk. This method can be very useful in determining whether you are drunk or not as this test tends to be accurate. The NHTSA has determined that conscious people can pass this test in almost all cases, with about 80% of people above the legal level of drunkenness in the US (0.8%) will fail. The “touch nose” test is one of the easiest tests to try. These are the things you should do:
- Close your eyes and stretch your arms out.
- Try touching the tip of your nose with your index finger, but keep your elbows raised straight. If your elbows fall to your sides, it doesn't count.
- If you don't touch your nose, you may get drunk.
Step 2. Try the “walk in a straight line” test
This test sees if you can walk straight, turn, and walk back. These are the things you can do:
- Look for a straight line on the ground.
- Walk six steps forward on the line, from beginning to end. Then, circle at the end of the line, and walk 6 steps back.
- You fail if you use your arms to balance, walk off the line, can't follow instructions, can't walk from start to finish.
Step 3. Try the “stand on one leg” test
This test sees if you can stand with one leg off the ground for 30 seconds. These are the things you can do:
- Lift your feet about 6 inches (15 cm) off the ground.
- Hold in that position for about 30 seconds.
- You fail if you do two or more of these things: sway, put your feet down, jump, or use your arms to balance
Method 3 of 4: Watching How You Behave
Step 1. See if you suddenly think that you are Superman (superhuman)
If you are drunk, you will start to think that the empty bottle of malt liquor that is near in front of you is a magic juice concoction. Are you starting to feel empowered, ready to do anything, and capable of physical tasks? Are you trying to lift someone who is heavier than you, walking on your hands, or wanting to climb the side of a building? Engage in an arm wrestling contest with a giant human? Trying to lift eight boxes full of stuff? If so, it means you're drunk, drunk, and drunk.
Step 2. Be aware of whether you are making wild dance moves
If you're usually a dancer, great. But if you're a quiet person and don't like dancing and suddenly do "The Macarena" with your aunt at her retirement party, or try to break dance to some hip hop dance, you've probably had enough alcohol. You can drink alcohol to get more excited about the dance, but if you find yourself trying moves you could never imagine on a sober night, you're already drunk.
Step 3. See if you start telling strangers your most intimate personal details
Maybe you've just met a friend of yours, made the acquaintance of your sibling's new boyfriend, or have just been introduced to the guy who works on the 3rd floor at your annual Christmas party. Okay, so far so good. But, do you find yourself talking about that you think you have genital warts? Your inability to cope with the death of Pooh-Pooh, your pet gerbil? When you share intimate details with anyone, be aware – you are drunk.
Step 4. See if you start to express love to someone you like
You've opened your second bottle of wine or box of Franzia and see your crush walking through the room. And suddenly, you're in front of him, talking about how cute he looks, how much you like him, and then – exhaling – you suddenly come forward to kiss him… only to land your face on the floor. If you find yourself revealing this intimate information to your crush when you know you'd never dream of doing it during the day, you're drunk, my friend.
Step 5. See if you start sending garbled text messages
Check your phone logs from the last hour. When you realize that it's nearly impossible to type or spit out words that make sense, it's time to put the messaging machine away and pour out the water.
Step 6. See if you have high emotions for no reason
Did you suddenly burst into tears because of your friend's Halloween screening of “Hocus Pocus”? Did you cry at dinner just because your friend wished you a happy birthday? Are you inconsolable because your crush didn't come to the party? If you don't normally like drama but are suddenly sad or touched by a small thing that happened, you're drunk.
Do you know that warm, fuzzy feeling that makes you feel like everyone around you loves you and the world is okay? Yes, it's alcohol
Step 7. See if you lose all coordination
Having trouble opening the bathroom door? Take off your own pants? Dipping pita chips in a big bowl of humus manure? If so, it means you've lost coordination because you've been drinking too much alcohol. If walking from room to room suddenly becomes a very tiring chore, your body has been blocked with alcohol.
Step 8. See if the people around you look confused because of you
Do you think you're in the middle of a winning story about how you won a spelling contest when you were in 4th grade or about your life changing journey to Costa Rica.. only to see that the people around you are squinting at you, scratching their heads, and looking confused by everything you say?
If people keep asking you to repeat what you just said or say, “what are you talking about?” or even “Do I know you?” it means you are drunk
Step 9. See if you don't remember anything the next day
If you can't remember what happened last night, you're blackout drinking. If you remember a few things, it means you're in a brownout state. Neither is so good, my friend. Not remembering what you did because drinking too much alcohol is scary, dangerous, and not a good way to live.
Step 10. See if you're behaving really differently than usual
If you're normally shy and suddenly become the one to liven up the atmosphere at parties, or if you usually like to hang out but are now sitting alone by the radio, thinking about the meaning of life and moving on to the “Dark Side of the Moon,” then you're not behaving like yourself.. If you think about what you've been doing while drinking and notice that you're behaving like everyone else, then you're probably drunk.
Method 4 of 4: Knowing If You Have a Problem
Step 1. Know when you drink alcohol dangerously
If you get "dangerously" drunk, it means that chances are, you won't remember it, or you really don't care and you won't consider your own level of intoxication. If you drink dangerously, others around you may notice it. The signs are that you stumble everywhere and fall, vomiting doesn't stop, sees the room spinning rapidly, and generally your eyes look blank and don't look like you at all.
- This is not a joke. There is no specific B. A. C number that says you are in danger. However, be aware that high levels of drunkenness can be more dangerous for yourself and others.
- People with a BAC of more than 0.19 contributed 41% of deaths caused by traffic accidents.
- When the BAC reaches a level of 0.3, side effects from drinking alcohol can include death. When it reaches 0.5%, most people will die. So don't drink too much alcohol even if you are at home.
Step 2. Consider buying an "ignition interlock" for your car if you're afraid you'll be drinking and driving
This tool will automatically prevent you from driving if you are drunk. Although these locks are usually placed in cars with people who have more than one D. U. I., you can take precautions to help yourself get out of trouble first.
Step 3. Know if you become an alcoholic
This means more than drinking a little alcohol with your friends every once in a while. This means drinking alcohol to a level where you don't remember anything that happened, drinking alcohol yourself regularly, and generally becoming dependent on alcohol. Alcoholism varies from person to person, but if you think you have an alcohol problem, you should seek help.
