Seeing flashing blue and red lights in your rearview mirror may send a shockwave of panic through your body. Regardless of the circumstances, getting pulled over by law enforcement is stressful and takes a real toll on reactions and responses. 

Consuming alcohol only makes this natural adrenaline-fueled response worse. If you had a couple of alcohol beverages at any point in the evening, you should know how they may affect the way your body performs under normal conditions. Also understand that stress may enhance alcohol’s effect, especially if you believe that you may go to jail. 

Physical factors contribute to intoxication 

While many elements may impact how alcohol affects the body, your physical makeup is paramount. Your gender, weight and physical build all factor in when it comes to how your body metabolizes alcohol. For starters, the more you weigh, the longer it typically takes for alcohol to synthesize. Your cognitive skills may take longer to decline, but with enough alcohol and time, you will start to feel and exhibit impairment. 

BAC and behavior 

All physical factors aside, the amount of alcohol you consume will start to have a measured effect on the way you behave. The police use a breathalyzer to determine your blood alcohol concentration, or BAC. The nationwide measure of impairment via BAC is .08%. Regardless of how many drinks you had, this test result may deem you legally too impaired to operate a vehicle and find you facing DWI charges. At this BAC level, you may experience some vision and memory issues. You may slur your words when you speak, and an officer may find it difficult to understand both what you say and how you say it. If you exhibit these signs when an officer pulls you over, he or she will have the grounds to conduct further testing to find out how impaired you are. 

Drinking and driving is something that law enforcement takes seriously. Therefore, if you find yourself facing a DWI charge after consuming alcohol, you may want to consult with an attorney to get proper assistance with your case.