Disappearance rate of alcohol from the blood of drunk drivers calculated from two consecutive samples; what do the results really mean?

Based on a large material (N = 2354) of double blood specimens from drunk drivers apprehended in The Netherlands, we selected 1314 cases for further evaluation. The difference BAC2-BAC1 was used as index of alcohol elimination rate from the blood. The results ranged from below 0.10 to 0.64 mg/ml/h, with a mean of 0.22 mg/ml/h. At least about 2% of drivers were still absorbing alcohol as indicated by a rising BAC. Some likely mechanisms are discussed that might account for the wide range of alcohol elimination rates observed.