Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 28, 1994 TAG: 9403280028
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Pearl Jam blared from the stereo when Virginia Tech professor Scott Geller walked into the room and saw nearly a dozen of his students sipping 12-ounce beers.
It was a pretty calm scene, save the loud music. Two students shot pool, a few played a drinking game with a deck of cards and the rest talked among themselves.
Geller surveyed the scene and decided to speak up.
"All right," the psychology professor shouted. "I want everyone to drink three beers in the first hour."
That might sound like questionable behavior for a teacher, but it wasn't.
Geller is an award-winning professor who specializes in the science of human behavior. The debauchery he encouraged March 19 was all in the name of research.
At the request of the Roanoke Times & World-News, Geller set up an experiment to find out how many beers it takes to reach a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent. That would be the legal driving limit under a bill passed earlier this month by the General Assembly.
During debate over the bill, it was said that the new law would mean that a 160-pounder who consumes four beers in an hour would be at risk of driving illegally, as would a 120-pounder who downs three drinks in an hour.
The newspaper asked Geller to test those figures.
All of the students involved in the experiment were willing volunteers over age 21, and no one was forced to drink beer faster than he or she wished.
The results - while not extremely surprising - were a lot of fun in the making.
As expected, the students' sobriety levels were affected by weight, tolerance and what they had eaten during the day.
Jennifer Heath, at 130 pounds, was the first to break the 0.08 barrier. She pounded three beers in 53 minutes and registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.118 percent, above the current legal limit of 0.10 percent.
Heath, who admitted to having a low tolerance, had eaten a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of soup for lunch. She also scored the highest Breathalyzer score of the day when she hit 0.257 percent after drinking six beers in two hours.
In contrast, 175-pound Ted Boyce drank seven beers in roughly the same period, and his blood-alcohol level was 0.127 percent. Boyce, who thinks he has a high tolerance, ate a 10-inch submarine sandwich for lunch on the day of the experiment.
The newspaper bought the beer for the research project, while Geller supplied a top-of-the-line Breathalyzer machine and the help of his top researchers and 11 students or recent graduates. These weren't, however, typical college party animals. All are research volunteers at Tech's Center for Applied Behavior Systems, which Geller heads. Usually, they are the ones doing the testing, not the drinking.
The student researchers often take Geller's Breathalyzer to fraternity parties to measure blood-alcohol levels and compile research data.
"I'm just here for my love of scientific research," said a tipsy Brenda Wetzel as she started her fifth beer. Moments earlier, the 126-pound psychology student registed a blood-alcohol level of 0.098 percent after drinking for just over an hour.
"I have a medium tolerance for a college student, but I guess it's pretty high for the general population," said Wetzel, who had cheese pizza and broccoli for lunch.
Kent Glindemann, a graduate student writing his dissertation in alcohol research, headed up the project for Geller. To keep the results as consistent as possible, Glindemann asked the volunteers to eat about 1 p.m. He also made sure that all the beer used contained 5 percent alcohol.
Students began drinking about 4 p.m., and their blood-alcohol level was taken after each beer.
The students were asked how drunk they thought they were before blowing into the Breathalyzer. For the most part, the volunteers thought they were more sober than the test showed.
After four beers, for example, 125-pound Kristy Maddox predicted her blood-alcohol level was 0.07 percent, when it was actually 0.107.
Most of the students, who were taken home by designated drivers, readily admitted that they were in no shape to get behind the wheel.
"I feel fine, I feel good, but I'm definitely drunk," slurred 176-pound Matt Rashleigh after eight beers. "I wouldn't want to do anything important, like study or drive."
Rashleigh, who had Mexican food for lunch, drank nine beers over the three-hour period. His final blood-alcohol level was 0.194 percent.
Glindemann said he was surprised that the students' blood-alcohol levels were often very close to the levels predicted using a nomogram chart, which uses a formula to determine how alcohol will affect people of different weights.
"It's contrary to what we found in past research studies, when the nomograms generally overestimated the level of drunkenness," he said.
Jen Walker, at 160 pounds, drank four beers in 90 minutes, and her blood-alcohol level was 0.092 percent. The nomogram used in the experiment predicted that a 160-pounder would blow 0.096 after four beers.
In addition to lowering the legal blood-alcohol limit to 0.08 percent, the drunken-driving bill sponsored by Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County, would:
Punish underage drinking by mandating a six-month license suspension and a $500 fine for anyone under 21 caught driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.02 percent or higher.
Require an immediate seven-day license revocation for drivers whose blood-alcohol level exceeds 0.08 percent as measured by a breath test, or who refuse to take a breath test. The drivers could appeal to a judge before the DUI trial for return of the license.
Require authorities to impound a drunken driver's car for 30 days if his license had been suspended or revoked because of previous drunken-driving violations. The driver or owner of the car could appeal the impoundment to a judge.
The bill still must be signed by Gov. George Allen, who has hinted that he might amend it to remove the immediate license revocation clause.
Glindemann said lowering the legal blood-alcohol level to 0.08 percent will make the roads safer, because anyone with a blood-alcohol level above 0.05 percent is actually impaired.
by CNB