The word ppm comes from the Latin mille, which translates as "per thousand." It means one thousandth of something in relation to the whole, or 1/10 percent of something. Often the term is associated with the amount of alcohol in the blood of drivers.
A ppm is indicated by a fraction, where the denominator is 1000 (0, 001 = 0, 1%). Zero ppm - 0 ‰ (0), 1 ppm - 1 ‰ (0.1%), etc.
In ppm, in particular, the level of alcohol in a person's blood is expressed. So, 0.5 ppm is 0.5 g of alcohol per 1 liter of blood in the body, and 1 ppm, respectively, is 1 g per liter.
There is no absolute sobriety when there is absolutely no alcohol in the blood. All people in the body have a small amount of endogenous ethanol, everyone has this level is individual and can be, for example, 0, 008, and in some cases and 0, 4 ppm.
The ppm indicator and the driver's condition
A person is considered sober if his blood contains no more than 0.3 ppm of alcohol. A concentration of 0.3-0.5 ppm gives a mild degree of intoxication. The person becomes less careful, prone to recklessness and risk. He is less aware of moving light sources.
At 0, 5-0, 7 ppm of alcohol in the blood, the driver loses the ability to distinguish colors, correctly determine the distance, and feel balance. He adapts worse to road situations, drives a car worse, evaluates his condition less critically. The reaction slows down.
A person is in a state of pronounced alcoholic intoxication when his blood has 0, 7-1, 3 ppm of alcohol. He no longer pays attention to traffic lights, belatedly notices objects on the roadway, braking cars in front, maneuvers of cars close. The reaction is significantly slowed down, attention is reduced, as is the ability to adequately assess the situation around.
When the indicator is 1, 4-2, 5 ppm, this is already a strong intoxication. Such a driver loses control over himself and over the vehicle, loses fear, becomes arrogant and careless. His speech becomes incoherent, and his movements are not coordinated. The driver makes gross mistakes on the road - he confuses the brake and gas pedals, switches the speed incorrectly, forgets about turning signals.
3, 0-5, 0 ppm characterize severe poisoning. And at 5, 0-7, 0 ppm, a lethal outcome is likely.
Legislation
Most countries have penalties for drunk driving.
Until 2010, the permissible blood alcohol level in Russia was 0.3 ppm. In 2010, the so-called dry law and zero ppm was introduced, which caused outrage from many motorists. It was said that the use of kefir and kvass increases the amount of alcohol in the body, as well as the individual characteristics of people with an initially high alcohol content.
In the Russian Federation, on September 1, 2013, a law came into force, according to which the presence of absolute ethyl alcohol in the driver's blood at a concentration of 0.16 mg or more per 1 liter of exhaled air is considered a state of intoxication, i.e. exceeding the possible concentration measurement error. Driving in a drunken state provides for a fine and deprivation of a driver's license for a period of up to 2 years.
The guidelines adopted by the Ministry of Health back in 1967 prescribe a person to be considered sober if the alcohol content in one liter of his blood is not higher than 0.5 ppm. This applies to unconscious drivers and the dead, to whom it is impossible to apply conventional methods to determine the degree of intoxication and have to take blood for analysis. Forensic medical experts are guided by these figures.