Recognizing Intoxication and Impairment
What intoxication means in Ohio
Ohio asks whether a person's mental or physical functioning is substantially impaired by alcohol. That is an observation standard, not a number. You are not expected to measure BAC; you are expected to describe what you saw and heard, and to act on it.
Dose versus effect
A standard drink - 12 oz of regular beer near 5%, 5 oz of wine near 12%, 1.5 oz of 80-proof spirits - carries about 0.6 oz of pure alcohol. The body clears roughly one drink per hour, dropping BAC about 0.015 per hour. Coffee, food, water, and cold air do not remove alcohol; they only change behavior. Tolerance changes behavior, never impairment: a practiced drinker can be at 0.15 and still walk a straight line.
Signs worth writing down
- Speech: slurring, too loud, repeating the same story
- Motor: swaying, gripping the bar, spilling, fumbling cash or a phone
- Appearance: bloodshot or glassy eyes, disheveled clothing, sweating
- Mood: sudden anger, tears, over-friendliness, inappropriate comments
- Judgment: ordering doubles, buying for strangers, losing track of the tab Name specifics in your notes - slurred speech, could not count change beats seemed drunk.
Worked example
A 120-pound guest drinks three 12-oz beers in two hours on an empty stomach. She insists she only had three. Weight, dose, and time place her near 0.10 - over the 0.08 driving limit - and she is repeating herself and steadying herself on the rail. The count gives the dose; the signs give the decision. Refuse the next drink and arrange a ride.
Traps
Judging only by how someone sounds. Missing the quiet guest who has gone silent. Overlooking combined alcohol and medication or cannabis use. Trusting a regular's reputation over what you see tonight.