New York, Jan 19 (IANS): The permissible alcohol limit behind the wheels - 30 mg per 100 ml of blood or .03 percent blood alcohol content (BAC) - in India can actually kill you.

According to a new study by the University of San Diego in California, even a BAC of .01 - the equivalent of one or two drinks - can impair driving, making drivers nearly twice as likely to be at fault in an accident compared to a sober driver.

"We find no safe combination of drinking and driving - no point at which it is harmless to consume alcohol and get behind the wheel of a car," said sociologist David Phillips from the University of San Diego.

The researchers analysed 570,731 fatal collisions between 1994 and 2011 from the US Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database.

"A BAC of .01 is 46 percent more likely to be 'officially and solely blamed' by accident investigators than the sober driver," said Phillips.

"Our data provide support for yet greater reductions in the legal BAC," Phillips added.

In India, according to Delhi Police, the risk being involved in a crash starts to rise significantly at a BAC of 40 mg for 100 ml of blood.

Young/adults with BAC above zero have 2.5 times the risk of crash compared with more experienced drivers, Delhi Police say.