38 How to Calculate Maximum Blood Alcohol Levels after a Drinking Event

Most countries impose an upper limit on allowable blood alcohol levels for drivers. It might therefore prove useful to estimate the maximum possible blood levels after a drinking event. Keep in mind that for most people, deterioration of driving skills begins at 50 mg dl–1, and that 100 mg dl–1 is the legal level of intoxication in most of the U.S.1,2 Maximum blood alcohol levels after a drinking event can be calculated by using Widmark’s Formula,3 named in honor of the pioneering studies by Erik M.P. Widmark of Sweden.4,5 For men with normal body weight (i.e., body length in centimeters minus 100 should correspond to weight in kg), the formula is: