Can You Get A DUI After Only Two Drinks?

Many people heading out to the local club or bar wonder, “Can you get a DUI after only two drinks?” The answer is, “It depends.” It depends primarily on five factors:

1. Did you have food before or with the drinks?
2. What is your sex and weight?
3. How large are the drinks?
4. How long have you been drinking?
5. What type of alcohol are you drinking?

There are actually over a dozen types of alcohol in chemistry. The alcohol that humans typically drink is called ethanol. Contrary to popular belief, when you drink ethanol, very little of it is actually absorbed through the stomach. It’s absorbed primarily through the intestines. The reason this is important is because there’s a valve at the base of the stomach called the pyloric valve. This valve closes when there is food in the stomach. Many people mistakenly believe that eating food before or during drinking will prevent them from getting drunk or– more accurately– intoxicated or impaired. Actually, it will simply delay or slow the process. We typically refer to this as slowing the rate of absorption. In some situations, if the rate of absorption is slowed sufficiently, this will prevent the drinker from every becoming intoxicated or impaired.

How Sex and Weight Affect Alcohol Metabolism

Ethanol is metabolized at a different rate in women than it is in men. This is due to general differences in body composition. Ethanol is also highly soluble in water, and women have a higher percentage of water in their bodies than men. In addition, women typically have less of the enzymes used to metabolize alcohol than men do (alcohol dehydrogenase and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase). Independent  of sex, body weight also determines the amount of space and mass which alcohol can diffuse in the body. A person who weighs 160lbs will have a lower blood alcohol concentration than a 120lb person who drank the same amount.

How Large Are The Drinks?

When someone refers to a “drink,” they could be talking about a 1.5 ounce a shot (43 ml) or a British Imperial pint of 20 imperial fluid ounces (568 ml)– or anything inbetween. When attempting to standardize drink sizes, we tend to say that a 1.5 ounce shot of hard liquor, a 5 ounce glass of wine, and a 12 ounce beer are one drink.

Be careful when assuming drink sizes. Many bars offer large pours for cocktails. When sharing wine from a bottle, glasses are often filled over time, as they empty– therefore you never know exactly how much was consumed. Also, many beers are served in bars in glasses that are not 12 ounces, but rather 16 or even 22 ounces.

How Long Have You Been Drinking?

As any bartender can tell you, the only true remedy for a hangover is time. Similarly, the only way to sober up is to wait. Alcohol typically dissipates from the body at a rate of about .015% blood alcohol content (BAC) per hour. For example, if you are at a .09 BAC and wanted to make sure you’re under .08 before driving, you’d have to wait at least the better part of an hour. Even then, you might not be safe to drive. But they’d at you’d be less likely to be over the legal limit.

Can You Get A DUI After Only Two Beers?

A typical 12 ounce beer is about 5% alcohol. An average man weighing 180lbs who has two 12 ounce beers would expect to reach a peak BAC of only 0.043%. An average woman weighing 160lbs would expect to reach a peak BAC of 0.057%.

Keep in mind, this does not mean that you wouldn’t be arrested or even charged with DUI at these levels. However, it is unlikely you’d reach a .08% BAC unless you were having larger beers, higher alcohol content beers, or were lighter in weight.

Can You Get A DUI After Only Two Glasses of Wine?

A typical 5 ounce glass of wine is about 12% alcohol. An average man weighing 180lbs who has two 5 ounce glasses of wine would expect to reach a peak BAC of only 0.05%. An average woman weighing 160lbs would expect to reach a peak BAC of 0.07%.

In this scenario, a woman would likely want to be very careful. If the woman is of lighter weight, or the wine is of a higher alcohol content (e.g. a bold red wine), she could easily reach a .08% BAC or higher.

Can You Get A DUI After Only Two Shots?

A typical 1.5 ounce shot of hard liquor is about 40% alcohol (also called 80 proof). An average man weighing 180lbs who has two 1.5 ounce shots would expect to reach a peak BAC of only 0.05%. An average woman weighing 160lbs would expect to reach a peak BAC of 0.06%.

This scenario is a little unrealistic for two reasons. First, many people don’t count their shots when they do shots. They are often having fun, maybe even doing shots in a hurry, or as part of a drinking game. Second, many people don’t drink shots in one gulp. Shots are often poured into a larger drink as part of a cocktail.

Can You Get A DUI After Only Two Mixed Drinks?

Mixed drinks and cocktails are really where all the math and science go out the window. This is because a cocktail can be 1.5 ounces of hard liquor (in a gin and tonic) or 4-5 ounces of hard liquor (in a Long Island Ice Tea). A helpful tool to estimate the alcohol content in mixed drinks is the National Institutes of Health’s Cocktail Content Calculator.

The Takeaway: Think Before You Drink

The first thing that goes when we drink is our mental sharpness. In addition, no one likes to attempt complex calculations in their head while drinking socially. For this reason, plan ahead. If you’re going on for a night on the town, plan in advance how many drinks you can have over a given amount of time. Typically it’s one standard drink per hour. If you set a limit, you’ll save money, stay safe, and have more fun. In between drinks, stay hydrated with a glass of seltzer or sparkling water (sometimes a splash of lemon, lime, or cranberry can make it less boring). And of course, if you or your friends have any doubt about your ability to safely drive, take a cab, Lyft, or Uber.