If you’ve been drinking and you do not think it will be safe for you to drive, or you are worried about being over the legal limit and getting a DUI, you may be wondering how you can reduce your blood alcohol concentration (BAC). For instance, you may consider drinking a cup of coffee, as people often say that this can sober you up.
But this is a common misconception. Coffee actually doesn’t sober you up at all. It just wakes you up. This can make you feel more alert and awake, but you are still just as impaired as you were before. It doesn’t actually change your blood alcohol concentration – and neither will other popular myths like taking a shower, drinking water or eating a meal.
What do you need to do?
The only thing to do is wait. The human body can metabolize alcohol at a fairly consistent rate of around 0.015% per hour. You just have to wait for your BAC to drop so that you can drive without worrying about legal charges.
This can take a lot longer than many people think. If your BAC is 0.06%, you are technically not even over the legal limit – although you could still get a DUI if you are impaired. But even then, it would take around four hours for your BAC to get back to zero. So, if you are substantially over that legal limit after a night of heavy drinking, your BAC may not fall far enough until the next day.
If you do find yourself under arrest on drunk driving charges, make sure you know about all of your legal defense options.