Dr. Grampp, there have recently been several cases in Saxony involving drivers who had three or more than four parts per thousand alcohol in their blood. The police were able to stop the man with more than four per mille from getting behind the wheel in time. How can a person with so much alcohol in their blood still drive a car?
Dr. Peter Grampp: Ordinary citizens who are not used to alcohol can no longer drive with the alcohol levels. You can assume that if someone with a blood alcohol content of three or four can still get behind the wheel – if they can even find the car door – that they are used to alcohol. That is, this is someone who drinks regularly, also regularly drinks a lot.
This is because the brain slowly gets used to the amounts of alcohol. And this habit is actually relatively high among level drinkers. The “best” thing I experienced was someone who arrived in his Trabi with almost five per thousand. He then only asked that his Trabi be parked.
Let’s assume an average man – 1.80 meters tall with 80 kilograms. How much would he have to drink to get more than three per mille?
So with beer they hardly manage that. Hard alcoholic beverages are usually included. If you spread that out over the day, then we’re already talking about ten liters of beer plus the corresponding other alcoholic beverages.
And a woman has to drink less…
Yes, because metabolism in women’s bodies is a little slower. It has to do with fat distribution and organ speed, how the enzymes work. In this respect, women are actually a little more at risk of getting high alcohol levels. If someone drinks regularly and heavily, a woman can also consume large amounts of alcohol without already having severe neurological deficits.