If you are flagged by a law officer on suspicion of drunk driving, there are two things to remember to do: 1) talk politely with the officer, and 2) refuse any alcohol test unless you have a DUI attorney or DUI lawyer present. You can legally refuse field sobriety tests if you so desire and over 21 years old, that right is guaranteed by the Constitution. In fact, you can even refuse to answer questions without your lawyer being present, a right specifically stated in the reading of the Miranda Rights with any arrest.

Though DUI might be just a simple misdemeanor, it is still hassling to experience. So perhaps the better way is to know how much alcohol you can take and still be below the DUI threshold of alcohol content, thus passing any field sobriety tests on the road. The key is to understand how alcohol works and how it affects the body and the tolerable volume for you.

How alcohol moves within you

When you imbibe alcohol in your drink, the alcohol is absorbed by your gastrointestinal tract, mostly by the small intestine, and is moved into the bloodstream. The blood then distributes it all over the whole body, including the brain and the nervous system parts. Equilibrium of sorts is attained after distribution in that all areas of the body may contain the same amount of alcohol as per the blood volume. Thus alcohol affects the whole body and its various operating systems. Slurred speech, slowed motor reactions and unsteady walking are some of the general effects. When concentration reaches to 0.35 g/100 ml of blood, alcohol can be fatal.

Elimination

However, the liver attempts to start eliminating the alcohol via metabolism as soon as it is detected. Small amounts are also excreted in breaths, saliva, sweat, urine and feces, so that there is a distinctive odor of intoxication in most drunk persons. Alcohol is eliminated at a fairly average rate of 15 milliliters per hour, except when the amounts are too high or too low, when elimination goes faster. Chronic alcoholics also discard alcohol relatively faster, the rate depending on their livers' health.

Tolerance

Alcohol tolerance depends largely on the particular person's body build. Larger persons naturally distribute alcohol over a greater mass so there is less concentration. Similarly, well-muscled individuals tend to absorb alcohol better than persons with more fat in their bodies, since fat has less water. Women, generally having more fat than men of the same weight, will also tolerate alcohol less than men, but inexplicably eliminate alcohol about 10% faster. Even so, tolerance decreases as the person gets older.

What you can do

As rules of thumb, men 18-40 years old have approximately 61% water in their bodies, while women have 52%. After 60, men would have 51% water and women 46%. Since prime alcohol intoxication is about 0.03-0.25 g/100 ml of blood or body water, the trick is to limit alcohol intake up to those levels, and imbibe additional alcohol only at the personal rate of elimination.

That way, you might escape a DUI charge.