Police in the American state of Rhode Island have arrested a man with the highest blood alcohol level ever recorded for someone who wasn't already dead.

Stanley Kobierowski was pulled over by police after driving his car into a road-side sign on Interstate 95 in Providence. Trans World News reported that when police arrived Kobierowski struggled to get out of his vehicle and then had to be carried to a breakdown lane due to his intoxicated state.

When he took a breathalyzer test, the 34-year-old recorded a blood Alcohol Tester  level on 0.491 per cent, the highest reading ever recorded for a living human being in Rhode Island. The legal limit in the state is 0.08 per cent.

Kobierowski was charged with driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest. He was sedated and taken to a detoxification unit in hospital.

Given his record-breaking blood alcohol level, things could have been worse for Kobierowski. According to the American health department, a blood alcohol level of 0.4 per cent can render a person comatose while a level of 0.5 per cent is considered fatal.