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Rhode Island driving lesson · Drinking, Drugs & Driving

Blood Alcohol Concentration

A 2-minute lesson from the Rhode Island course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

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Read time
2 minutes
Course unit
Drinking, Drugs & Driving
Checkpoint questions
5
Source pages
61

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is how the law measures whether you're too impaired to drive. Rhode Island sets a lower limit for drivers under 21—and drinking under 21 is already illegal.

BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration)

The ratio of alcohol to blood (to body weight) in your bloodstream at a given time. In Rhode Island it is evidence that you are intoxicated or unfit to drive.

Handbook p. 61 ↗

Rhode Island BAC limits

Rhode Island BAC limits
DriverBACCharge
Any age0.08% or moreDriving Under the Influence (DUI)
Under 210.02% to less than 0.08%Driving While Impaired (DWI)
Handbook p. 61 ↗
0.02%

BAC at which a driver under 21 can be charged with DWI

Handbook p. 61 ↗

Know the rule

Any person of any age with a BAC of .08% or more is intoxicated and will be charged with drunk driving (DUI).

Handbook p. 61 ↗

Your BAC depends on:

  • How much alcohol you drank
  • How much you weigh
  • How much food you ate before drinking
  • How long you've been drinking
  • How fast your body processes alcohol (different for each person)
Handbook p. 61 ↗

Know the rule

Alcohol goes from your stomach into your blood and to all parts of your body.

Handbook p. 61 ↗

Put it into practice

A 19-year-old is stopped after a party and tests at 0.04% BAC. He's under the 0.08% DUI limit, but because he's under 21 and above 0.02%, he's charged with Driving While Impaired.

Check your understanding

Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.

What BAC level makes a driver of any age legally intoxicated (DUI) in Rhode Island?
  1. 0.05% or more
  2. 0.08% or more
  3. 0.10% or more
  4. 0.02% or more

Answer: 0.08% or more

Any person of any age with a BAC of 0.08% or more is charged with driving under the influence (DUI).

Handbook p. 61 ↗
What BAC range makes a driver under 21 guilty of Driving While Impaired (DWI)?
  1. 0.05% but less than 0.10%
  2. 0.00% but less than 0.02%
  3. 0.02% but less than 0.08%
  4. 0.08% but less than 0.15%

Answer: 0.02% but less than 0.08%

A driver under 21 with a BAC of 0.02% but less than 0.08% is charged with Driving While Impaired (DWI).

Handbook p. 61 ↗
Which of these is listed in the handbook as a factor that affects your BAC?
  1. Whether you drink beer, wine, or liquor
  2. How much food you ate before drinking
  3. Whether you drank coffee afterward
  4. How much water you drank

Answer: How much food you ate before drinking

BAC depends on how much you drank, your weight, food eaten beforehand, time spent drinking, and how fast your body processes alcohol.

Handbook p. 61 ↗
What does BAC stand for?
  1. Basic Alcohol Chart
  2. Breath Alcohol Calculation
  3. Body Alcohol Count
  4. Blood Alcohol Concentration

Answer: Blood Alcohol Concentration

BAC stands for Blood Alcohol Concentration.

Handbook p. 61 ↗
True or False: BAC is the ratio of alcohol to blood present in the bloodstream at a given time.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: True

Blood alcohol concentration is the ratio of alcohol to blood present in the bloodstream at any given time.

Handbook p. 61 ↗
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