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Canada

Blood Alcohol Calculator – When Can I Drive Again? 🇨🇦

See how many drinks put you over the 0.05% provincial warn range, watch your hour-by-hour sober curve, and know when you’re safe to drive.

0.08% BAC Legal limit

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Drunk Driving in Canada — 0.08% BAC

The Criminal Code "Over 80" offence triggers at 0.08% BAC nationwide. Most provinces and territories also issue immediate roadside suspensions in the 0.05% "warn" range. Novice (Graduated Licensing) drivers and drivers under 21 must maintain a 0.00% BAC in most provinces.

ℹ️ Information

CONTEXT
🌎 Country
Show results in
ABOUT YOU
Sex
⚖️ Weight

lbs

⏱️ Start time of drinking (optional) Time of your first drink (not required)

🕒

⏳ Or: hours ago —
0h6h12h18h24h

🍹🍸🍺 Drinks

Drink {{ index+1 }}

{{ drinkSummary(drink) }}

%

≈ {{ servingHint(drink) }}

Maximum number of drinks reached.

The results will show up here...
📈 Results
Current BACPeak BAC {{ initialSobriety }}{{ unitSign }} Legal limit {{ countryLimit }}{{ unitSign }}
Safe Caution Impaired Intoxicated Dangerous
Above the legal limit – do not drive. Close to the legal limit – driving not recommended. Safe to drive, but stay cautious.
{{ legalLimitTimeLabel }}
Sober in: {{ sobrietyTime }}

Drunk Driving in Canada

Experienced drivers (federal) 0.08%
Provincial warn range 0.05%
Novice & under-21 drivers 0.00%

Impaired Driving Laws in Canada

Offence type No offence Below the legal limit – driving is permitted.
Offence type Over the 0.0 limit Zero-tolerance country — driving with any detectable alcohol is prohibited.
Offence type Over the legal limit You are over the legal limit and committing a drink-driving offence. Exact penalties depend on your BAC and local law.
Offence type Warn-range suspension 0.05% – 0.079% BAC (warn range) Administrative offence — fine and licence points possible.
Typical penalties
  • Provincial administrative penalty — short suspension + fees
  • Possible vehicle impoundment (province-dependent)
  • Escalating penalties on repeat events
Offence type Impaired driving (Criminal Code) 0.08%+ BAC (Criminal Code "Over 80") Criminal offence — may result in a criminal record.
Typical penalties
  • Mandatory minimum $1,000 fine on first offence
  • 1-year+ driving prohibition
  • 30 days mandatory jail on second offence (120 days on third+)
These are general penalties. Actual consequences may vary by local law and circumstances. Learn more →

Legal limit

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Based on Canada law ·

Elimination rate

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Assumed average

Standard Drinks

{{ standardDrinks }}🍺
Approx. consumed

Pure Alcohol

{{ results.length > 0 ? results[0].pureAlcoholMl : '0' }} {{ qunits }}
Pure alcohol consumed

Pure Alcohol (g)

{{ alcoholGrams }} g
Total ethanol consumed

Calories

{{ calories }} kcal
From alcohol only — mixers add more

Time over limit

{{ timeOverLimit || '0m' }}
Estimated duration above the legal driving limit
For your own safety, we recommend using a rate no higher than the average.
Current BACPeak BAC {{ initialSobriety }}{{ unitSign }} Legal limit {{ countryLimit }}{{ unitSign }}
Safe Caution Impaired Intoxicated Dangerous
Above the legal limit – do not drive. Close to the legal limit – driving not recommended. Safe to drive, but stay cautious.
{{ legalLimitTimeLabel }}
Sober in: {{ sobrietyTime }}

Drunk Driving in Canada

Experienced drivers (federal) 0.08%
Provincial warn range 0.05%
Novice & under-21 drivers 0.00%

Impaired Driving Laws in Canada

Offence type No offence Below the legal limit – driving is permitted.
Offence type Over the 0.0 limit Zero-tolerance country — driving with any detectable alcohol is prohibited.
Offence type Over the legal limit You are over the legal limit and committing a drink-driving offence. Exact penalties depend on your BAC and local law.
Offence type Warn-range suspension 0.05% – 0.079% BAC (warn range) Administrative offence — fine and licence points possible.
Typical penalties
  • Provincial administrative penalty — short suspension + fees
  • Possible vehicle impoundment (province-dependent)
  • Escalating penalties on repeat events
Offence type Impaired driving (Criminal Code) 0.08%+ BAC (Criminal Code "Over 80") Criminal offence — may result in a criminal record.
Typical penalties
  • Mandatory minimum $1,000 fine on first offence
  • 1-year+ driving prohibition
  • 30 days mandatory jail on second offence (120 days on third+)
These are general penalties. Actual consequences may vary by local law and circumstances. Learn more →
{{ afterLabel }} {{ $t('unit.' + units) }} Status
{{ result.time }} {{ result.drunkenness }}
  • Safe to drive, but stay cautious.
  • Close to the legal limit – driving not recommended.
  • Above the legal limit – do not drive.
Create a pop-up notification

Sobriety Over Time

Your estimated BAC as your body clears the alcohol

Sober in {{ sobrietyTime }}
  • {{ lookaheadBacDisplay }}{{ unitSign }} Above the legal limit – do not drive. Close to the legal limit – driving not recommended. Safe to drive, but stay cautious.
  • {{ $t('unit.' + units) }}
  • Legal limit ({{ countryLimit }}{{ unitSign }})
👮 Health impact and legal consequences
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Peak BAC: {{ peakBAC }}

💡 Tips: drink water, eat, and avoid driving until you are below the legal limit and ideally sober.

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Attention‼️ The results are only approximate, so make sure you are sober before driving.

About results
Current BAC

Your Current BAC is the estimated percentage of alcohol in your blood right now — 0.08% means 0.08 grams per 100 ml. It is the figure a police breathalyzer reports and the number both the Criminal Code and provincial road laws are built around.

Legal limit

Canada has two layers. The federal Criminal Code “Over 80” offence triggers at 0.08% BAC nationwide, while most provinces add an immediate roadside suspension in the 0.05% “warn” range. Novice drivers in Graduated Licensing and, in most provinces, drivers under 21 must stay at 0.00%. A first Criminal Code conviction means a minimum $1,000 fine and a one-year licence suspension.

Elimination rate

Alcohol leaves your system at a near-constant rate of about 0.015% BAC an hour, and nothing shortens it — a coffee or a cold shower may sharpen how you feel but they do not lower the number by a single point. Only time does, which is why you can still be impaired the morning after.

Standard Drinks

A Canadian standard drink holds about 13.6 grams (0.6 fl oz) of pure alcohol — a 341 ml (12 oz) bottle of 5% beer, a 5 oz glass of 12% wine, or a 1.5 oz shot of 40% spirits. This total converts your drinks into standard drinks, since a tall can or a generous pour can count as more than one.

Pure Alcohol

The pure alcohol (in ounces) your body has absorbed so far — the raw figure your standard-drink count and BAC are both derived from.

Time vs. Sobriety Table

The table projects your BAC each hour, and when you enter the time of your first drink it maps the estimates onto the actual time of day — showing when you are likely to fall back under 0.08% and under the 0.05% warn range. Status icons flag which hours are safe to drive; leave the time blank to work in hours elapsed.

Sobriety Over Time Graph

A line chart of your BAC declining over the hours ahead, so you can see when it drops below the legal and the genuinely safe levels.

How Alcohol Affects You

A reference table matching BAC ranges to their typical effects on judgment, coordination and reaction time — impairment that begins well below 0.08%.

Legal limit reached in / Sober in / Peak BAC

Quick summary estimates:

  • Legal limit reached in: time until your BAC falls below 0.08% (and the 0.05% warn range).

  • Sober in: time until it returns to ~0.000%.

  • Peak BAC: the highest level reached in the session.

Data used for calculations

Five factors that determine your result

Weight
Body weight determines how alcohol distributes in the body — more weight means a lower blood alcohol concentration.
Sex
Men and women metabolize alcohol at different rates because of differences in body water content.
Amount
The amount of pure alcohol consumed is the main factor that determines your BAC result.
Strength
A higher strength (%) means more ethanol in the same drink serving.
Time
The time of your first drink shows how BAC changes hour by hour and when you'll be sober again.

How much does Canada drink?

Alcohol consumption per adult, per year

10.0L

litres of pure alcohol per adult (15+), per year

Per adult, that is roughly:

587 beers ≈ 11/week
556 glasses of wine ≈ 11/week
625 shots ≈ 12/week
10.0 L
1.7 L Ø 6.0 11.4 L

65% above the regional average

Ranks #2 of 35 in the Americas Ranks #31 of 188 in the World Average in the Americas: 6.0 L

How neighbours compare

#1 Canada 10.0L #2 the Americas
#2 United States 9.8L #3 the Americas
#3 Mexico 6.0L #18 the Americas

How safe are the roads in Canada?

Road traffic deaths per 100,000 people, per year

4.7 /100k

road traffic deaths per 100,000 people, 2021

~35% of road deaths linked to alcohol WHO estimate, 2019 · 24–50%
35 road deaths per week WHO estimate, 2021
12 alcohol-linked deaths per week WHO-derived estimate
4.7
4.7 Ø 14.1 31.3

67% fewer road deaths than the regional average

#1 safest of 36 in the Americas #27 safest of 195 worldwide Average in the Americas: 14.1 per 100k

How neighbours compare

#1 Canada 4.7 #1 the Americas
#2 Mexico 12.0 #13 the Americas
#3 United States 14.2 #20 the Americas

Latest available year shown per country.

LIMITS NEARBY

BAC limits in neighboring countries

Explore the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limits for drivers in nearby countries.

US

United States

0.08%
Relaxed
MX

Mexico

0.04%
Strict

Drunk Driving in Canada

Federal and provincial BAC limits for Canadian drivers

Experienced drivers (federal)
0.08%
Relaxed
Provincial warn range
0.05%
Moderate
Novice & under-21 drivers
0.00%
Zero tolerance
The Criminal Code "Over 80" offence triggers at 0.08% BAC nationwide. Most provinces and territories also issue immediate roadside suspensions in the 0.05% "warn" range. Novice (Graduated Licensing) drivers and drivers under 21 must maintain a 0.00% BAC in most provinces.

Impaired Driving Laws in Canada

Consequences of exceeding the legal BAC limit

0.05% – 0.079% BAC (warn range)
Warn-range suspension
  • Provincial administrative penalty — short suspension + fees
  • Possible vehicle impoundment (province-dependent)
  • Escalating penalties on repeat events
0.08%+ BAC (Criminal Code "Over 80")
Impaired driving (Criminal Code)
  • Mandatory minimum $1,000 fine on first offence
  • 1-year+ driving prohibition
  • 30 days mandatory jail on second offence (120 days on third+)

Tips for Responsible Drinking

Practical tips for safer drinking

Pace yourself
Stick to the "one drink per hour" rule – your liver needs time to process alcohol.
Eat before and while drinking
A solid meal slows alcohol absorption – an empty stomach raises BAC faster.
Drink water
After each alcoholic drink, have a glass of water – it reduces dehydration and health risks.
Don't drive
Even small amounts of alcohol impair reaction time. If in doubt, call a taxi or stay overnight.

Source: World Health Organization (WHO).

Official sources & references

The limits and penalties on this page come from official government sources

Confirm the current rules directly with the responsible authorities:

Laws change — always check the latest limits and penalties with the official source before driving.

How we calculate your BAC

The exact formula, step by step

Your result is not a guess. It comes from the Widmark equation, the same formula forensic toxicologists use in court. Here it is, worked through with an example.

BAC = A ÷ (r × W) − (β × t)

where A = grams of pure alcohol, r = body-water factor (0.68 for men, 0.55 for women), W = weight in kg, β = elimination rate (~0.15 g/L per hour), and t = hours since your first drink.

  1. Pure alcohol (A). Three 500 ml beers at 5% ABV hold 3 × 500 × 0.05 × 0.789 ≈ 59 g of pure alcohol.
  2. Body water (r × W). For an 80 kg man: 0.68 × 80 = 54.4.
  3. Peak level. A ÷ (r × W) = 59 ÷ 54.4 ≈ 1.09 g/L — the same as 1.09‰ or about 0.11% BAC.
  4. Subtract elimination. After 2 hours: 1.09 − (0.15 × 2) = 0.79 g/L.

The calculator runs this same equation on your own weight, sex, drinks and timing — the numbers above are only a worked example. Method based on E. M. P. Widmark (1932); results are an estimate, not a legal measurement.

What people actually log

SmartBAC has run over 17,000 calculations in recent weeks. Of every drink people log, beer is the most common by far — about 6 in 10 — ahead of spirits and then wine.

Anonymous, aggregated first-party usage data from SmartBAC, July–August 2026.

FAQ

How long does it take for a BAC of 0.1% to leave the body?

A BAC of 0.1% — already 25% above Canada's 0.08% federal criminal threshold — typically takes 5 to 8 hours to fully eliminate. The body metabolises alcohol at a near-constant 0.012–0.020% BAC per hour, with healthy adult men averaging closer to 0.018%/h and women closer to 0.015%/h.

That means even after the legal limit is reached around 1.5 hours into elimination, real driving impairment (reaction time, judgement, motor control) can persist for several more hours. Sleep does not speed up the process — only time does. Coffee, cold showers, exercise, and food during the elimination phase do not measurably reduce BAC.

How can I sober up faster?

The honest answer: you can't meaningfully speed up sobering up. The liver metabolises alcohol at a near-constant ~0.015% BAC per hour, set by your enzymes — not by coffee, cold showers, exercise, fresh air, energy drinks, or greasy food.

Drinking water helps with the dehydration that drives hangover symptoms and can make you feel more alert, but it does not lower the alcohol concentration in your blood. Eating before (and during) drinking slows absorption and lowers the peak BAC, and is the closest thing to "drinking smarter" — but once the alcohol is in your bloodstream, only time will clear it. If you're thinking about driving, the only safe rule is to wait — or arrange a taxi, rideshare, or designated driver.

What is the margin of error for breathalyzers?

In Canada, breathalyzer devices — while widely used for impaired-driving enforcement — are not perfectly accurate and have a recognised margin of error. The typical error margin for police-grade breathalyzers is ±0.01% BAC (or ±10 mg per 100 mL of blood), though some devices specify accuracy of ±5% at the legal limit. This means a reading of 0.08% BAC could actually fall between 0.07% and 0.09% due to device variability, calibration drift, and individual biological factors.

Canadian courts have recognised these margins, and in rare cases convictions have been overturned when the error margin could have placed a driver below the legal threshold. Roadside Approved Screening Devices (ASDs) are less accurate than evidentiary Approved Instruments (AI) used at the station — a "fail" on the roadside ASD triggers a station test, not an automatic conviction.

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