HONOLULU -- Experts are saying getting drunk may be easier than most of us think.

KITV spoke with a university professor Tuesday about how our bodies respond to alcohol.

Many people would have to leave some assumptions about drinking behind. For example, people shouldn’t count on their friends, particularly those who have been drinking, to judge how drunk they are.

"If your friends have been drinking, they're probably not going to be as observant of the fact that you are impaired as well," said Abby Collier, PhD., a UH pharmacology professor.

Collier said that because people react differently to alcohol from each other and even differently on different days, it's even hard to know how being three-times the legal limit will affect them.

"For your average person, by the time you get to three times the legal limit, you are so impaired that you are either in bed or perhaps calling an ambulance," said Collier.

It is wrong to assume to get to triple the legal limit you have to drink triple the alcohol. Many people get very intoxicated by having several drinks over a few hours and then drinking several in a short period of time.

"As time gets shorter between drinking, the accumulation gets faster," Collier said.

She said once the liver reaches capacity to absorb liquor, people can get drunk very fast.

It's also important to remember that your driving ability probably begins to deteriorate way before you get to the legal limit, said Collier. That's why authorities continuously remind drinkers to choose a designated driver before they start drinking.