WWYD Drinking while driving.

[Pea-n-Me]

Yes, plenty of science and gender, size do have an impact.

As far as the other hypotheticals that aren't part of this particular case - yes obviously there could be a wide variety of potential issues. The OP didn't mention that he was high on weed, taking horse tranquilizers, has any rare liver diseases, etc.
Other possible mitigating factors:
1) Allergic reactions to the aluminum can
2) A brain aneurysm that is being held at bay by a constant amount of stress and once the stress is relieved by drinking a beer - it causes a catastrophic reaction.
3) That extra 12 oz of weight added to his 300 lb body could be just enough extra weight to cause a failure in a faulty restraint system.

... but a 12 oz beer still has a fixed amount of actual alcohol in it (0.6 oz if it is a 5% beer) - and it can only raise the percentage of alcohol in the body's entire volume of blood by a fixed amount.

The way the body metabolizes the alcohol can vary widely among people.

 

[CPanther95]

The way the body metabolizes the alcohol can vary widely among people.

True, but even if you metabolize that single beer 100 times slower than a normal human - it still can't increase your BAC more than that .06 oz of alcohol relative to the volume of blood in your body.

So he's just "not impaired" for longer.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

Those darn drunks!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

According to this, from Brown University:

Alcohol and Your Body: http://www.brown.edu/Student_Servic...&_other_drugs/alcohol/alcohol_&_your_body.php

A 100 lb woman would come pretty darned close, at .050, to the legal limit of .080, after consuming one beer in one hour. (And that is given no variables like disease state, food, menstrual cycle (!), etc. Or, as they say , better than I: "Note: these charts give you good general guidelines, but there are many factors involved in a person's reaction to alcohol, including body composition, use of medication or other drugs, mood changes and metabolism.")

According to them, "Peak BAC [blood alcohol content] could be as much as 3 times higher in someone with an empty stomach than in someone who has eaten a meal before drinking." So, if this is true, and I assume it is, that same 100 lb woman who drank one beer in one hour but had an empty stomach could well have a BAC of .015, in reality, or somwhere between the two. So yes, I do consider that a gamble.

This could well apply to men, too, when other factors are considered.

Do I still think it's ok to have a beer on the train or in celebration after work. As I said before, yes, it's likely fine.

But I don't think it's EVER as cut and dry as some want to make it out to be, and I think that almost any drinking and driving can be a gamble. (And most people underestimate what they drink, and their judgement about it becomes impaired, too, at BAC levels lower than the legal limit.)

 

[TAX GUY]

Oh for cripes sake....

yeah huh...

nuh-ugh...

mmmm-hmmm...

no-suh....




just take the !@#$ bus.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Yeah yeah. People asked for an explanation. It wasn't something I really wanted to get into.

Bottoms up!

 

[CPanther95]

According to them, "Peak BAC [blood alcohol content] could be as much as 3 times higher in someone with an empty stomach than in someone who has eaten a meal before drinking." So, if this is true, and I assume it is, that same 100 lb woman who drank one beer in one hour but had an empty stomach could well have a BAC of .015, in reality, or somwhere between the two. So yes, I do consider that a gamble.

Changing the 300 lb man we are discussing to a 100 lb woman is the same as changing his 1 beer to 4 beers. If the OP said the guy chugged 4 beers at the beginning of the drive, you'd probably see a little bit different set of responses.

Using your source, the .014 for our 300 lb guy "could be" a peak "as much as" .042. That's barely into the "possibly impaired" range that begins at .041.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Changing the 300 lb man we are discussing to a 100 lb woman is the same as changing his 1 beer to 4 beers. If the OP said the guy chugged 4 beers at the beginning of the drive, you'd probably see a little bit different set of responses.

Using your source, the .014 for our 300 lb guy "could be" a peak "as much as" .042. That's barely into the "possibly impaired" range that begins at .041.

Fine, for argument's sake. But the point remains there can be variation.