Recognizing Intoxication and Preventing Overservice
Alcohol is a central-nervous-system depressant. Impairment begins with the first drink and rises with each standard drink; the legal driving limit for adults is .08 BAC, but your duty to stop service is triggered by visible impairment, not a number.
Standard drink math
12 oz regular beer (about 5%), 5 oz wine (about 12%), or 1.5 oz of 80-proof spirits (40%). Note that SC's 1.7 oz minibottle is slightly more than one standard drink - a useful trap.
What changes BAC
Body weight, sex, hydration, food in the stomach, carbonation, medications, and speed of drinking. Food and carbonation slow or speed absorption but do not prevent intoxication. Time is the only thing that lowers BAC - roughly 0.015 per hour. Coffee, cold showers, food, and fresh air sober no one up. Tolerance changes behavior, never BAC or impairment.
Signs to name
Behavioral: loud or profane speech, mood swings, over-friendliness or aggression, repeating themselves, fumbling money, spilling, glassy eyes. Physical: slurred speech, swaying, gripping furniture, flushed face, stumbling to the restroom, vomiting.
Traps
- "They're walking fine, so they're okay" - tolerance hides signs while BAC stays high.
- "Coffee will fix them" - false; only time works.
- "They have a designated driver" - the DD does not license continued service to an impaired person.
- "It's only beer" - count standard drinks, not glass size.
Rule of thumb
If you can name three observable signs, stop alcohol service, switch to water and food, notify the manager, and start arranging a ride.