How much can I drink and still drive?
Discussion
It's a question I'm asked regularly - how much can I drink and still be safe to drive? How much will put me over the limit?
It's also a subject which regularly crops up in this forum and one which generates a real mixed bag of responses. So I thought I'd post a really comprehensive guide to alcohol and driving - specifically it's effects, it's compatibility (or otherwise) with driving and some factual and honest answers to the most commonly asked questions relating to alcohol and driving.
It's a long post, so you might want to get yourself a brew (or a gin and tonic!) before you start reading...
4% of all injury accidents are caused by drivers who are impaired by alcohol.
When I first came across this figure it really surprised me – drink driving is portrayed as a major cause of serious and fatal accidents in the UK and we’ve all been subject to a great deal of anti-drink-drive publicity over the years, yet only 4% of all accidents are attributed by the reporting officer as being caused, in part, by a driver who was impaired by alcohol.
If we put that figure into context, however, and examine the statistics in more detail, you’ll see that drink driving is still a serious problem in the UK.
4% equates to 4,679 accidents, 1,034 of which resulted in someone being seriously injured and 128 of which resulted in someone being killed. 128 is actually 9% of all fatal accidents which occur in the UK, so if we were only examining fatalities, excess alcohol contributes to a large percentage of road deaths.
128 people killed in 12 months. Imagine the furore if 128 people were killed every year on the railways. There would be a public enquiry, many millions would be spent on improving rail safety, lines and trains would be redesigned and people would think twice about travelling by train.
But because these deaths are occurring on the road, we quietly accept them, momentarily feel sorry for the bereaved families when we read about these accidents in the paper, and then turn the page to read the football results.
Why is alcohol such a problem?
Let’s start by looking at what alcohol is, what effects it has on your body, and why these effects are so incompatible with driving a motor vehicle:
Alcohol is a depressant
This may come as a bit of a surprise, especially if you associate alcohol with partying, dancing and raving the night away, but alcohol is, chemically and physiologically, a depressant. By “depressant”, I don’t mean that it makes you want to listen to The Smiths and cry at the end of Titanic – I mean that in chemical terms, it depresses a number of functions of your brain and nervous system. Let’s look at how it affects you from your first drink onwards and see how compatible those effects are with driving a motor vehicle.
First Drink:
Alcohol is absorbed very quickly by your body and will start to affect you almost immediately after taking your first drink. The first effects are that the parts of your brain which control inhibitions, concentration, willpower and self-control are depressed by the alcohol.
Socially, these effects are generally considered to be good and they’re the reason that many of us enjoy a drink from time-to-time. With lowered inhibitions and increased self-confidence, we tend to talk more and louder and behave in a more socially outgoing, extrovert and unreserved way.
That first drink or two also starts to affect your “fine motor skills” – your ability to control your hands and fingers to carry out detailed tasks. It also affects your peripheral vision in an interesting way – the background and areas to each side become blurred and you become less able to focus on what is happening around you and more focussed on what is just immediately in front of you.
Compatibility with Driving
These effects can clearly be pleasant, particularly in a social setting, but how compatible are they with driving a car? The problems are threefold:
Firstly, your increased self-confidence will make you think that you’re a better driver than you are and that you’ll actually be better at driving a car than you would be when you’re completely sober.
Secondly, your depressed visual acuity and motor skills will generally reduce your ability to operate a cars controls and properly assess what you’re seeing.
Thirdly, your lowered inhibitions will make you less likely to refuse to drive, and more likely to confidently get in your car and encourage other people to join you.
These effects can occur after consumption of quite small quantities of alcohol – sometimes well below legal drink-drive limits, so it’s important to remember that even if you’re legally allowed to drive after one drink, it will still have these effects on your body and you will still be impaired to a degree.
As You Continue Drinking
As your consumption of alcohol increases, the effects on your body and cognitive functions become more pronounced. By the time you’re on your third or fourth drink, you’ll generally start to slur your words (even though you may not notice the slurring), and your peripheral and background vision will be much more blurred and insignificant.
Your fine motor skills will deteriorate to a much greater degree (you’ll feel quite clumsy and may knock things over or drop things you’d never normally drop), your balance is starting to be affected and your ability to make sensible, rational decisions reduces significantly.
Compatibility with Driving
At this point, you’re starting to feel a bit drunk – tipsy, merry, squiffy, giddy – the level of drunkenness where you can still function reasonably, you know what you’re doing and where you are, but you’re also very relaxed, even more outgoing, your voice is even more raised and you’re starting to become a little unsteady on your feet.
Unfortunately, those earlier feelings of confidence and lowered inhibitions are still with you – possibly to an even greater degree, so you’re still – at this point – more likely to think your driving will be fine and to make the decision that it’ll be ok to drive.
Clearly, though, it won’t be. These more significant effects of alcohol are not compatible with keeping safe control of a vehicle. Your ability to take in visual and other information is reduced, your ability to process that information quickly and accurately drops significantly and your ability to make rational decisions and plans is diminished.
In addition, your ability to control your hand and foot movements, together with your balance and hand-eye co-ordination are also significantly reduced, meaning that your ability to operate the cars controls are considerably depleted.
In short, you can’t see or think properly and you can’t operate the cars controls as well as when you’re sober.
This level of drunkenness generally falls above the legal drink-drive limits and if you’ve drunk enough alcohol to reach this level or worse, then you pose a significant risk if you get behind the wheel (or handlebars, tiller, yolk, control column, whatever your choice of mechanised transport).
More Please!
Beyond this stage, the effects on your body and brain become much more pronounced. Your vision becomes more and more blurred as your alcohol consumption continues to increase and your balance and motor skills deteriorate dramatically.
Walking – particularly in a straight line – becomes difficult and stairs can be a particular challenge. At this stage, your emotions can start to be affected too. Some people become aggressive, some become morose. I tend to just sit in a corner quietly chuckling to myself.
Each physical action starts to require more thought – turning your head, picking up your glass, raising it to your mouth – all seem to start requiring a considerable amount of thought and consideration. Speech can be extremely slurred – or in my case – extremely s l o w a n d c o n s i d e r e d. . .
Compatibility with Driving
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that this level of drunkenness is extremely incompatible with driving a car. If you’re struggling to walk and talk and pick up a glass, then you’ll also struggle with the intricacies of safely controlling a car, looking for hazards and making safe assessments and driving plans. In short, at this stage, you’ll be a liability behind the wheel and it’s far more likely to be a question of “when” rather than “if” you’ll have an accident.
This level of drunkenness is, of course well above any legal drink-drive limit and most judicial systems have sentencing guidelines which would take into account different levels of intoxication and punish offenders accordingly.
Beyond More
Beyond this stage of drunkenness, if you’re still able to lift your glass and pour it down your throat, things get really bad.
Your ability to walk and talk is removed, and you’re likely to end up in a drunken stupor – on a couch if you’re lucky, in the gutter if you’re less lucky and in a police cell or hospital bed if you’re really unlucky. Alcohol consumption beyond this point can result in unconsciousness and even death.
Compatibility with Driving
Really? This level of drunkenness is pretty much incompatible with life, let alone driving. If you’re this drunk and you manage by some miracle to get behind the wheel and start the engine, you’ll be lucky if you get past the first lamp-post without an accident.
Incredibly, though, during my police career, I encountered quite a few people who had managed to drive a car at this level of drunkenness.
These people are out there…
How Much Can I Drink and Still Drive?
This is a question I’m asked quite regularly, and people always expect a simple, straightforward answer, like “one pint of lager” or “one glass of wine”.
Unfortunately, life (and the human body and chemistry) isn’t as simple as that. There are a wide range of different parameters to consider which affect the answer to this question.
Are you male, female, tall, short, fat, thin, a regular or occasional drinker?
Your sex and physical build have a huge effect on your body’s ability to process alcohol and on your level of drunkenness for a set amount of alcohol.
Men absorb and process alcohol more efficiently than women and the volume of an individual’s body has a huge bearing on how much they will be affected by different amounts of alcohol.
So, if a tall, well-built man drinks a double whisky, it will have a significantly lower effect on his ability to drive than it would on a short, slim woman. It would also raise the woman’s blood alcohol level to a much higher degree than the man’s due to his larger volume i.e. he’s got much more blood in his body than the woman and the alcohol is therefore more diluted by his higher volume of blood.
Regular drinkers build up a level of immunity to alcohol, so if you’re a regular or heavy drinker, you’ll need to consume more alcohol than an occasional drinker to achieve the same effect. Heavy drinkers, however, need to remain aware that their blood alcohol level will be the same as an occasional drinker’s if their body type is similar and they’ve kept up with each other drink-for-drink. The occasional drinker may feel quite drunk, but the heavy drinker may not feel much effect, but because their blood alcohol levels are the same, the regular, heavy drinker may be well over the limit, even if they feel ok to drive.
What are you Drinking?
Most of you will be aware that different drinks contain different amounts of alcohol, but many people aren’t aware of the huge difference in alcohol content between otherwise similar drinks.
In the UK, the alcohol content of drinks is measured as a percentage of the total volume of the drink, so some lagers may be 4% alcohol by volume (ABV) and some Scotch Whiskies may be 40% ABV.
The problem here is that some lagers contain 2.5% ABV and some lagers contain over 9% ABV. So if you were to drink one pint of 9% lager, you’re effectively consuming as much alcohol as you would by drinking about 3 ½ pints of 2.5% lager.
Wine can vary between 9% and 16% ABV (but generally sits between 12 and 15%), so the amount of wine you can consume before driving also varies significantly.
Spirits, clearly, have a much higher alcohol content but, again, this content can vary dramatically. Liqueurs start at around 25% ABV, Vodka, rum and Scotch Whisky are usually around 40% ABV, cask strength whisky can be up to 65% ABV and some strong grain spirits, Absinth etc. can be as high as 95% ABV.
These types of drink tend to be consumed in smaller quantities, but the types of mixer you choose can also have a bearing on how much effect certain drinks will have on your body. Mixed with a still mixer, for instance, spirits will be absorbed more slowly in your body than those mixed with a fizzy mixer. So a vodka and orange juice, for instance, will affect you more slowly than a vodka and coke.
You’re probably starting to see just how difficult it is to gauge how much you can have to drink and still drive. But there are more things to consider…
How Big?
This might seem obvious, but glass size has a major bearing on how much alcohol you’re consuming. Drinking in a pub or other licensed premise, it’s easier to keep track of how much alcohol you’re drinking. Pub measures are always standard and they even have to (by law!) offer a selection of smaller measures. I’ve also never, to this day, met a pub landlord who serves in oversize glasses.
At home, however, things are very different. We’ve a set of wine glasses in our kitchen which will easily hold half-a-bottle of wine each. If I have a glass of single malt, I don’t carefully decant it into a Trading Standards approved 25ml measuring thimble. No – I pour out a couple of generous glugs into a glass and add a drop of water. How much alcohol? I’ve no idea.
So if you drink at home, it’s highly likely that you’ll generally underestimate the amount of alcohol you’re consuming – sometimes to quite an alarming degree.
Anything to Eat Sir?
This may be a concept you’re already aware of, but it’s worth exploring. If you drink on an empty stomach, your body will absorb the alcohol much more quickly than it does if you drink after a meal.
In other words, go out straight after work and have a few drinks without eating first and you’ll be making a fool of yourself much more quickly than if you went for something to eat after work and then have a few drinks.
Relating this situation to something more relevant to this post, if you have a couple of pints on an empty stomach, your driving is likely to be more impaired than if you have a couple of pints with a meal.
That’s not, of course, to say that you’re safe to drive if you’ve drunk alcohol with a meal – you’ve still consumed the same amount of alcohol and the effects will be similar, it’s just that those effects will take longer to show.
That’s all Very Interesting – But…
How Much can I Drink and Still Drive?
What? Really? I’ve just explained to you how complicated this question is to answer and how many variables there are and you still want an answer to this question?
The Drink-Drive Limit
Ok then, let’s move on to the drink-drive limit and see if that helps us answer the question.
The drink-drive limit in England and Wales is 0.08%. This means that your blood can contain up to 0.08% alcohol before you’re not legally allowed to drive. This level was set in 1967 and has not changed since. In 1967, it was felt that 0.08% was the level at which individuals were excessively impaired so that they could not safely control a motor vehicle. Interestingly, more modern research suggests that the actual safe impairment level starts from a blood alcohol level of 0.05%, but more of that shortly.
Most of us are more familiar with the less technical descriptions of the current drink-drive limit in England & Wales:
35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath;
80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood or;
107 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine.
Please don’t get confused at this stage – the limits listed above are, in reality, all exactly the same and equate to a blood alcohol level of 0.08%. It’s just the measurement methods which are different – depending on whether the measurement is taken from a sample of breath, blood or urine.
In reality, the blood and urine levels are becoming increasingly irrelevant as a change in the law in 2015 saw the “statutory option” of having a breath sample replaced with one of blood or urine removed, so the only circumstances these days when blood or urine are used instead of breath would be if the driver were in hospital.
So how much drink will put me over the limit?
Honestly?
You’ve just read all the above and you’re asking that?
To be honest, I think it’s the wrong question anyway – with a blood alcohol level of 0.079%, you may be just under the limit, but your ability to drive will still be impaired. Driving whilst impaired – even to a degree that is technically legal – still significantly effects your ability to safely control a car and to make the correct observations and plans involved in driving.
If you want an honest answer to this question, an average sixed man could safely drink one pint of 4% ABV beer or a glass of wine with a meal and still be under the statutory drink-drive limit. For an average sized woman, this amount is slightly less.
But in all honesty – and you probably knew I was leading up to this – the best advice is don’t drink any alcohol before driving a motor vehicle.
What about the morning after?
Here’s another area which some people struggle to understand. If you’ve had a skinful the night before, there is a strong possibility that you will still be over the drink-drive limit the following day. And I don’t just mean first thing in the morning – you could still be over the limit well into the afternoon, mostly dependant on two factors:
1. How much you had to drink, and;
2. When you stopped drinking.
If you go online, you’ll find a range of “calculators” which claim to be able to tell you when you’ll be ok to drive again based on what you’ve consumed and what time you stopped drinking.
In basic terms, the best advice suggests that it takes your body an hour to remove each unit of alcohol you’ve consumed. As an example, the following is a short list of drinks to demonstrate how many units they contain:
Pint of 4% ABV draft lager = 2.5 Units of Alcohol
Large Glass of 13% ABV Wine = 3.5 Units of Alcohol
Double Measure of Scotch at 40% ABV = 3 Units of Alcohol
So, if you go out and drink three pints of lager, a glass of wine and a double whisky, you’ll consume 14 units of alcohol. If you stop drinking at midnight, it’ll take your body one hour per unit to remove the alcohol, so that’ll be 14 hours until your body has removed all the alcohol you consumed.
In other words, it’ll be 2.00pm before you can be sure that all the alcohol has been removed from your system.
Now, I’m not suggesting it’ll be 2.00pm before you’re under the drink-drive limit, because clearly that isn’t the case, but it’ll be at least 11.00am before you’re down to that level and if you start work at 9.00am and set off at 8.00am, then you’ll obviously still be well over the limit when you drive to work the next day.
Makes you think doesn’t it?
One of the problems is that, after a night’s sleep, you often don’t actually feel drunk when you wake up. You may feel rough, hungover and generally a bit ropey, but you don’t usually feel drunk – certainly not in the merry, sociable and enjoyable way that you did the previous evening.
But even though you don’t feel drunk, the negative effects of the alcohol are still there – the lack of co-ordination, the reduced motor skills, the blurred peripheral vision and the reduced ability to make rational decisions quickly. In other words, all the stuff that affects your ability to drive safely.
In recent years, police forces have reacted to this “morning after” issue by targeting drivers on the morning commute and catching those who were unaware that they still had so much alcohol still sloshing around inside them.
Don’t be caught out!
If you have a skinful the night before, assume that you won’t be fit to drive until at least the early afternoon on the next day, and possibly even later than that if you stopped drinking very late.
Do you Live in Scotland?
If so, lucky you! Mrs Local and I love Scotland – it’s a beautiful country with some fantastic driving roads and excellent distilleries – perfect, in other words, for two of my favourite things in life.
The Scottish government has quite a progressive approach to amending its own legislation and it’s never shy of sticking its head above the parapet – particularly when it comes to alcohol. They introduced a public-health related licensing objective to their Licensing Act (something the English government has dithered about for years and failed to act on), and they were progressive in looking to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol (although this one is still stuck in the appeals system somewhere).
In 2014, the Scottish Government took the decision to reduce the drink driving limit in line with more recent advice on impairment levels and safe driving limits. The Scottish drink-drive limit is now 0.05%, which equates to:
22 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath (35 in rest of UK);
50 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood (80 in rest of UK) or;
67 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine (107 in rest of UK).
So the advice I gave above for England and Wales should be reduced as follows:
An average sixed man could drink half a pint of 4% ABV beer or a small glass of wine with a meal and still be under the statutory drink-drive limit in Scotland. For an average sized woman, this amount is slightly less.
But in all honesty, in Scotland, if you want to remain under the drink-drive limit, I would have to advise not drinking at all before driving a motor vehicle. The same additional caution should be applied to morning-after drinking north of the border too.
In other words, if you refer to new year as “Hogmanay”, enjoy eating stuffed sheep’s stomach and use the word “wee” a lot in a non-toilet capacity, then you should really avoid driving altogether on the day after a heavy night out.
To Summarise
Drink-Driving can be a very emotive issue and there are a wide range of opposing opinions about the subject, ranging from teetotal temperance societies, through support groups for bereaved families and some of the old-fashioned views often expressed by (mostly) older people “I don’t see the harm if I’m only going half-a-mile”.
In terms of avoiding an accident, the advice is simple – if you don’t consume any alcohol at all before driving, you’ll keep your chances of having an accident to a minimum.
If you do consume alcohol – even a small amount – then your chances of having an accident are much higher.
We all know the possible consequences – hospital, police station, driving ban, prison, mortuary – I don’t think I need to labour those points.
If you do have a drink on a night out, just remember that a taxi is always – always – cheaper than a drink-drive conviction.
It’s not Just You!
Remember as well, that it doesn’t matter how responsible or sober you are, there are still plenty of other people out there who are willing to risk driving after a few – or more – drinks. I’ve had to break the news to quite a few families that a loved one has been killed by one of these drivers and each of those conversations has stayed with me ever since.
This may be obvious, but there are times and places where you’re more likely to encounter a drunk driver – between 11.00pm and 5.00am when licensed premises are closing, people are more likely to be driving home after a few, and that likelihood is significantly higher in rural areas than in urban areas. If you live in the country, the temptation to drive after a few drinks seems to be higher because of a perceived lack of taxis and the belief that there is much less chance of seeing a police car and getting caught.
When you’re driving at these times, be wary of vehicles approaching junctions to your left and right as they may not give way to you – move away from the junctions slightly on the approach and be prepared to brake or avoid if the car pulls out.
You may have a mental image of a drunk driver – weaving down the road, bumping off kerbs and crossing the white line whilst driving at 15mph. I’ve seen a few drunk drivers like this, but generally the signs are much subtler and not as easy to spot.
Someone who has had a drink will often overcompensate for their level of intoxication, so someone driving carefully at, or just under the speed limit and obeying every traffic sign and road marking can often be an indication that they’ve had a drink.
Others have a level of overconfidence and – particularly if they’ve got passengers in the car – will drive excessively fast for the road and traffic conditions. These are easier to spot!
The more difficult drink-drivers to spot and avoid are the functioning alcoholics who need a drink in order to operate at a level which everyone else considers to be normal. These people need a drink before they leave the house in the morning and continually need a drink during the day. They may be driving whilst intoxicated at any time of the day or night. I’ve dealt with people who were drunk in the morning on their way to work, dropping their children off at school and even – once – whilst driving a taxi full of passengers.
If you spot a car which you think may be driven by someone who is drunk, my best advice is to invoke Reg’s policy on non-involvement. In other words, stay well away from them, avoid getting too close or overtaking them and don’t give them an opportunity to involve you in their next accident or incident.
By all means report them to the police if you like – you can use your mobile phone in an emergency and preventing a serious accident would certainly be classed as an emergency, so ring 999 if you like and give a description of the vehicle and its location & direction of travel. I know some people don’t like reporting things like this to the police and that’s a position I understand and respect to a certain degree.
But just think - that phone call may save someone's life.
It's also a subject which regularly crops up in this forum and one which generates a real mixed bag of responses. So I thought I'd post a really comprehensive guide to alcohol and driving - specifically it's effects, it's compatibility (or otherwise) with driving and some factual and honest answers to the most commonly asked questions relating to alcohol and driving.
It's a long post, so you might want to get yourself a brew (or a gin and tonic!) before you start reading...
4% of all injury accidents are caused by drivers who are impaired by alcohol.
When I first came across this figure it really surprised me – drink driving is portrayed as a major cause of serious and fatal accidents in the UK and we’ve all been subject to a great deal of anti-drink-drive publicity over the years, yet only 4% of all accidents are attributed by the reporting officer as being caused, in part, by a driver who was impaired by alcohol.
If we put that figure into context, however, and examine the statistics in more detail, you’ll see that drink driving is still a serious problem in the UK.
4% equates to 4,679 accidents, 1,034 of which resulted in someone being seriously injured and 128 of which resulted in someone being killed. 128 is actually 9% of all fatal accidents which occur in the UK, so if we were only examining fatalities, excess alcohol contributes to a large percentage of road deaths.
128 people killed in 12 months. Imagine the furore if 128 people were killed every year on the railways. There would be a public enquiry, many millions would be spent on improving rail safety, lines and trains would be redesigned and people would think twice about travelling by train.
But because these deaths are occurring on the road, we quietly accept them, momentarily feel sorry for the bereaved families when we read about these accidents in the paper, and then turn the page to read the football results.
Why is alcohol such a problem?
Let’s start by looking at what alcohol is, what effects it has on your body, and why these effects are so incompatible with driving a motor vehicle:
Alcohol is a depressant
This may come as a bit of a surprise, especially if you associate alcohol with partying, dancing and raving the night away, but alcohol is, chemically and physiologically, a depressant. By “depressant”, I don’t mean that it makes you want to listen to The Smiths and cry at the end of Titanic – I mean that in chemical terms, it depresses a number of functions of your brain and nervous system. Let’s look at how it affects you from your first drink onwards and see how compatible those effects are with driving a motor vehicle.
First Drink:
Alcohol is absorbed very quickly by your body and will start to affect you almost immediately after taking your first drink. The first effects are that the parts of your brain which control inhibitions, concentration, willpower and self-control are depressed by the alcohol.
Socially, these effects are generally considered to be good and they’re the reason that many of us enjoy a drink from time-to-time. With lowered inhibitions and increased self-confidence, we tend to talk more and louder and behave in a more socially outgoing, extrovert and unreserved way.
That first drink or two also starts to affect your “fine motor skills” – your ability to control your hands and fingers to carry out detailed tasks. It also affects your peripheral vision in an interesting way – the background and areas to each side become blurred and you become less able to focus on what is happening around you and more focussed on what is just immediately in front of you.
Compatibility with Driving
These effects can clearly be pleasant, particularly in a social setting, but how compatible are they with driving a car? The problems are threefold:
Firstly, your increased self-confidence will make you think that you’re a better driver than you are and that you’ll actually be better at driving a car than you would be when you’re completely sober.
Secondly, your depressed visual acuity and motor skills will generally reduce your ability to operate a cars controls and properly assess what you’re seeing.
Thirdly, your lowered inhibitions will make you less likely to refuse to drive, and more likely to confidently get in your car and encourage other people to join you.
These effects can occur after consumption of quite small quantities of alcohol – sometimes well below legal drink-drive limits, so it’s important to remember that even if you’re legally allowed to drive after one drink, it will still have these effects on your body and you will still be impaired to a degree.
As You Continue Drinking
As your consumption of alcohol increases, the effects on your body and cognitive functions become more pronounced. By the time you’re on your third or fourth drink, you’ll generally start to slur your words (even though you may not notice the slurring), and your peripheral and background vision will be much more blurred and insignificant.
Your fine motor skills will deteriorate to a much greater degree (you’ll feel quite clumsy and may knock things over or drop things you’d never normally drop), your balance is starting to be affected and your ability to make sensible, rational decisions reduces significantly.
Compatibility with Driving
At this point, you’re starting to feel a bit drunk – tipsy, merry, squiffy, giddy – the level of drunkenness where you can still function reasonably, you know what you’re doing and where you are, but you’re also very relaxed, even more outgoing, your voice is even more raised and you’re starting to become a little unsteady on your feet.
Unfortunately, those earlier feelings of confidence and lowered inhibitions are still with you – possibly to an even greater degree, so you’re still – at this point – more likely to think your driving will be fine and to make the decision that it’ll be ok to drive.
Clearly, though, it won’t be. These more significant effects of alcohol are not compatible with keeping safe control of a vehicle. Your ability to take in visual and other information is reduced, your ability to process that information quickly and accurately drops significantly and your ability to make rational decisions and plans is diminished.
In addition, your ability to control your hand and foot movements, together with your balance and hand-eye co-ordination are also significantly reduced, meaning that your ability to operate the cars controls are considerably depleted.
In short, you can’t see or think properly and you can’t operate the cars controls as well as when you’re sober.
This level of drunkenness generally falls above the legal drink-drive limits and if you’ve drunk enough alcohol to reach this level or worse, then you pose a significant risk if you get behind the wheel (or handlebars, tiller, yolk, control column, whatever your choice of mechanised transport).
More Please!
Beyond this stage, the effects on your body and brain become much more pronounced. Your vision becomes more and more blurred as your alcohol consumption continues to increase and your balance and motor skills deteriorate dramatically.
Walking – particularly in a straight line – becomes difficult and stairs can be a particular challenge. At this stage, your emotions can start to be affected too. Some people become aggressive, some become morose. I tend to just sit in a corner quietly chuckling to myself.
Each physical action starts to require more thought – turning your head, picking up your glass, raising it to your mouth – all seem to start requiring a considerable amount of thought and consideration. Speech can be extremely slurred – or in my case – extremely s l o w a n d c o n s i d e r e d. . .
Compatibility with Driving
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that this level of drunkenness is extremely incompatible with driving a car. If you’re struggling to walk and talk and pick up a glass, then you’ll also struggle with the intricacies of safely controlling a car, looking for hazards and making safe assessments and driving plans. In short, at this stage, you’ll be a liability behind the wheel and it’s far more likely to be a question of “when” rather than “if” you’ll have an accident.
This level of drunkenness is, of course well above any legal drink-drive limit and most judicial systems have sentencing guidelines which would take into account different levels of intoxication and punish offenders accordingly.
Beyond More
Beyond this stage of drunkenness, if you’re still able to lift your glass and pour it down your throat, things get really bad.
Your ability to walk and talk is removed, and you’re likely to end up in a drunken stupor – on a couch if you’re lucky, in the gutter if you’re less lucky and in a police cell or hospital bed if you’re really unlucky. Alcohol consumption beyond this point can result in unconsciousness and even death.
Compatibility with Driving
Really? This level of drunkenness is pretty much incompatible with life, let alone driving. If you’re this drunk and you manage by some miracle to get behind the wheel and start the engine, you’ll be lucky if you get past the first lamp-post without an accident.
Incredibly, though, during my police career, I encountered quite a few people who had managed to drive a car at this level of drunkenness.
These people are out there…
How Much Can I Drink and Still Drive?
This is a question I’m asked quite regularly, and people always expect a simple, straightforward answer, like “one pint of lager” or “one glass of wine”.
Unfortunately, life (and the human body and chemistry) isn’t as simple as that. There are a wide range of different parameters to consider which affect the answer to this question.
Are you male, female, tall, short, fat, thin, a regular or occasional drinker?
Your sex and physical build have a huge effect on your body’s ability to process alcohol and on your level of drunkenness for a set amount of alcohol.
Men absorb and process alcohol more efficiently than women and the volume of an individual’s body has a huge bearing on how much they will be affected by different amounts of alcohol.
So, if a tall, well-built man drinks a double whisky, it will have a significantly lower effect on his ability to drive than it would on a short, slim woman. It would also raise the woman’s blood alcohol level to a much higher degree than the man’s due to his larger volume i.e. he’s got much more blood in his body than the woman and the alcohol is therefore more diluted by his higher volume of blood.
Regular drinkers build up a level of immunity to alcohol, so if you’re a regular or heavy drinker, you’ll need to consume more alcohol than an occasional drinker to achieve the same effect. Heavy drinkers, however, need to remain aware that their blood alcohol level will be the same as an occasional drinker’s if their body type is similar and they’ve kept up with each other drink-for-drink. The occasional drinker may feel quite drunk, but the heavy drinker may not feel much effect, but because their blood alcohol levels are the same, the regular, heavy drinker may be well over the limit, even if they feel ok to drive.
What are you Drinking?
Most of you will be aware that different drinks contain different amounts of alcohol, but many people aren’t aware of the huge difference in alcohol content between otherwise similar drinks.
In the UK, the alcohol content of drinks is measured as a percentage of the total volume of the drink, so some lagers may be 4% alcohol by volume (ABV) and some Scotch Whiskies may be 40% ABV.
The problem here is that some lagers contain 2.5% ABV and some lagers contain over 9% ABV. So if you were to drink one pint of 9% lager, you’re effectively consuming as much alcohol as you would by drinking about 3 ½ pints of 2.5% lager.
Wine can vary between 9% and 16% ABV (but generally sits between 12 and 15%), so the amount of wine you can consume before driving also varies significantly.
Spirits, clearly, have a much higher alcohol content but, again, this content can vary dramatically. Liqueurs start at around 25% ABV, Vodka, rum and Scotch Whisky are usually around 40% ABV, cask strength whisky can be up to 65% ABV and some strong grain spirits, Absinth etc. can be as high as 95% ABV.
These types of drink tend to be consumed in smaller quantities, but the types of mixer you choose can also have a bearing on how much effect certain drinks will have on your body. Mixed with a still mixer, for instance, spirits will be absorbed more slowly in your body than those mixed with a fizzy mixer. So a vodka and orange juice, for instance, will affect you more slowly than a vodka and coke.
You’re probably starting to see just how difficult it is to gauge how much you can have to drink and still drive. But there are more things to consider…
How Big?
This might seem obvious, but glass size has a major bearing on how much alcohol you’re consuming. Drinking in a pub or other licensed premise, it’s easier to keep track of how much alcohol you’re drinking. Pub measures are always standard and they even have to (by law!) offer a selection of smaller measures. I’ve also never, to this day, met a pub landlord who serves in oversize glasses.
At home, however, things are very different. We’ve a set of wine glasses in our kitchen which will easily hold half-a-bottle of wine each. If I have a glass of single malt, I don’t carefully decant it into a Trading Standards approved 25ml measuring thimble. No – I pour out a couple of generous glugs into a glass and add a drop of water. How much alcohol? I’ve no idea.
So if you drink at home, it’s highly likely that you’ll generally underestimate the amount of alcohol you’re consuming – sometimes to quite an alarming degree.
Anything to Eat Sir?
This may be a concept you’re already aware of, but it’s worth exploring. If you drink on an empty stomach, your body will absorb the alcohol much more quickly than it does if you drink after a meal.
In other words, go out straight after work and have a few drinks without eating first and you’ll be making a fool of yourself much more quickly than if you went for something to eat after work and then have a few drinks.
Relating this situation to something more relevant to this post, if you have a couple of pints on an empty stomach, your driving is likely to be more impaired than if you have a couple of pints with a meal.
That’s not, of course, to say that you’re safe to drive if you’ve drunk alcohol with a meal – you’ve still consumed the same amount of alcohol and the effects will be similar, it’s just that those effects will take longer to show.
That’s all Very Interesting – But…
How Much can I Drink and Still Drive?
What? Really? I’ve just explained to you how complicated this question is to answer and how many variables there are and you still want an answer to this question?
The Drink-Drive Limit
Ok then, let’s move on to the drink-drive limit and see if that helps us answer the question.
The drink-drive limit in England and Wales is 0.08%. This means that your blood can contain up to 0.08% alcohol before you’re not legally allowed to drive. This level was set in 1967 and has not changed since. In 1967, it was felt that 0.08% was the level at which individuals were excessively impaired so that they could not safely control a motor vehicle. Interestingly, more modern research suggests that the actual safe impairment level starts from a blood alcohol level of 0.05%, but more of that shortly.
Most of us are more familiar with the less technical descriptions of the current drink-drive limit in England & Wales:
35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath;
80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood or;
107 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine.
Please don’t get confused at this stage – the limits listed above are, in reality, all exactly the same and equate to a blood alcohol level of 0.08%. It’s just the measurement methods which are different – depending on whether the measurement is taken from a sample of breath, blood or urine.
In reality, the blood and urine levels are becoming increasingly irrelevant as a change in the law in 2015 saw the “statutory option” of having a breath sample replaced with one of blood or urine removed, so the only circumstances these days when blood or urine are used instead of breath would be if the driver were in hospital.
So how much drink will put me over the limit?
Honestly?
You’ve just read all the above and you’re asking that?
To be honest, I think it’s the wrong question anyway – with a blood alcohol level of 0.079%, you may be just under the limit, but your ability to drive will still be impaired. Driving whilst impaired – even to a degree that is technically legal – still significantly effects your ability to safely control a car and to make the correct observations and plans involved in driving.
If you want an honest answer to this question, an average sixed man could safely drink one pint of 4% ABV beer or a glass of wine with a meal and still be under the statutory drink-drive limit. For an average sized woman, this amount is slightly less.
But in all honesty – and you probably knew I was leading up to this – the best advice is don’t drink any alcohol before driving a motor vehicle.
What about the morning after?
Here’s another area which some people struggle to understand. If you’ve had a skinful the night before, there is a strong possibility that you will still be over the drink-drive limit the following day. And I don’t just mean first thing in the morning – you could still be over the limit well into the afternoon, mostly dependant on two factors:
1. How much you had to drink, and;
2. When you stopped drinking.
If you go online, you’ll find a range of “calculators” which claim to be able to tell you when you’ll be ok to drive again based on what you’ve consumed and what time you stopped drinking.
In basic terms, the best advice suggests that it takes your body an hour to remove each unit of alcohol you’ve consumed. As an example, the following is a short list of drinks to demonstrate how many units they contain:
Pint of 4% ABV draft lager = 2.5 Units of Alcohol
Large Glass of 13% ABV Wine = 3.5 Units of Alcohol
Double Measure of Scotch at 40% ABV = 3 Units of Alcohol
So, if you go out and drink three pints of lager, a glass of wine and a double whisky, you’ll consume 14 units of alcohol. If you stop drinking at midnight, it’ll take your body one hour per unit to remove the alcohol, so that’ll be 14 hours until your body has removed all the alcohol you consumed.
In other words, it’ll be 2.00pm before you can be sure that all the alcohol has been removed from your system.
Now, I’m not suggesting it’ll be 2.00pm before you’re under the drink-drive limit, because clearly that isn’t the case, but it’ll be at least 11.00am before you’re down to that level and if you start work at 9.00am and set off at 8.00am, then you’ll obviously still be well over the limit when you drive to work the next day.
Makes you think doesn’t it?
One of the problems is that, after a night’s sleep, you often don’t actually feel drunk when you wake up. You may feel rough, hungover and generally a bit ropey, but you don’t usually feel drunk – certainly not in the merry, sociable and enjoyable way that you did the previous evening.
But even though you don’t feel drunk, the negative effects of the alcohol are still there – the lack of co-ordination, the reduced motor skills, the blurred peripheral vision and the reduced ability to make rational decisions quickly. In other words, all the stuff that affects your ability to drive safely.
In recent years, police forces have reacted to this “morning after” issue by targeting drivers on the morning commute and catching those who were unaware that they still had so much alcohol still sloshing around inside them.
Don’t be caught out!
If you have a skinful the night before, assume that you won’t be fit to drive until at least the early afternoon on the next day, and possibly even later than that if you stopped drinking very late.
Do you Live in Scotland?
If so, lucky you! Mrs Local and I love Scotland – it’s a beautiful country with some fantastic driving roads and excellent distilleries – perfect, in other words, for two of my favourite things in life.
The Scottish government has quite a progressive approach to amending its own legislation and it’s never shy of sticking its head above the parapet – particularly when it comes to alcohol. They introduced a public-health related licensing objective to their Licensing Act (something the English government has dithered about for years and failed to act on), and they were progressive in looking to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol (although this one is still stuck in the appeals system somewhere).
In 2014, the Scottish Government took the decision to reduce the drink driving limit in line with more recent advice on impairment levels and safe driving limits. The Scottish drink-drive limit is now 0.05%, which equates to:
22 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath (35 in rest of UK);
50 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood (80 in rest of UK) or;
67 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine (107 in rest of UK).
So the advice I gave above for England and Wales should be reduced as follows:
An average sixed man could drink half a pint of 4% ABV beer or a small glass of wine with a meal and still be under the statutory drink-drive limit in Scotland. For an average sized woman, this amount is slightly less.
But in all honesty, in Scotland, if you want to remain under the drink-drive limit, I would have to advise not drinking at all before driving a motor vehicle. The same additional caution should be applied to morning-after drinking north of the border too.
In other words, if you refer to new year as “Hogmanay”, enjoy eating stuffed sheep’s stomach and use the word “wee” a lot in a non-toilet capacity, then you should really avoid driving altogether on the day after a heavy night out.
To Summarise
Drink-Driving can be a very emotive issue and there are a wide range of opposing opinions about the subject, ranging from teetotal temperance societies, through support groups for bereaved families and some of the old-fashioned views often expressed by (mostly) older people “I don’t see the harm if I’m only going half-a-mile”.
In terms of avoiding an accident, the advice is simple – if you don’t consume any alcohol at all before driving, you’ll keep your chances of having an accident to a minimum.
If you do consume alcohol – even a small amount – then your chances of having an accident are much higher.
We all know the possible consequences – hospital, police station, driving ban, prison, mortuary – I don’t think I need to labour those points.
If you do have a drink on a night out, just remember that a taxi is always – always – cheaper than a drink-drive conviction.
It’s not Just You!
Remember as well, that it doesn’t matter how responsible or sober you are, there are still plenty of other people out there who are willing to risk driving after a few – or more – drinks. I’ve had to break the news to quite a few families that a loved one has been killed by one of these drivers and each of those conversations has stayed with me ever since.
This may be obvious, but there are times and places where you’re more likely to encounter a drunk driver – between 11.00pm and 5.00am when licensed premises are closing, people are more likely to be driving home after a few, and that likelihood is significantly higher in rural areas than in urban areas. If you live in the country, the temptation to drive after a few drinks seems to be higher because of a perceived lack of taxis and the belief that there is much less chance of seeing a police car and getting caught.
When you’re driving at these times, be wary of vehicles approaching junctions to your left and right as they may not give way to you – move away from the junctions slightly on the approach and be prepared to brake or avoid if the car pulls out.
You may have a mental image of a drunk driver – weaving down the road, bumping off kerbs and crossing the white line whilst driving at 15mph. I’ve seen a few drunk drivers like this, but generally the signs are much subtler and not as easy to spot.
Someone who has had a drink will often overcompensate for their level of intoxication, so someone driving carefully at, or just under the speed limit and obeying every traffic sign and road marking can often be an indication that they’ve had a drink.
Others have a level of overconfidence and – particularly if they’ve got passengers in the car – will drive excessively fast for the road and traffic conditions. These are easier to spot!
The more difficult drink-drivers to spot and avoid are the functioning alcoholics who need a drink in order to operate at a level which everyone else considers to be normal. These people need a drink before they leave the house in the morning and continually need a drink during the day. They may be driving whilst intoxicated at any time of the day or night. I’ve dealt with people who were drunk in the morning on their way to work, dropping their children off at school and even – once – whilst driving a taxi full of passengers.
If you spot a car which you think may be driven by someone who is drunk, my best advice is to invoke Reg’s policy on non-involvement. In other words, stay well away from them, avoid getting too close or overtaking them and don’t give them an opportunity to involve you in their next accident or incident.
By all means report them to the police if you like – you can use your mobile phone in an emergency and preventing a serious accident would certainly be classed as an emergency, so ring 999 if you like and give a description of the vehicle and its location & direction of travel. I know some people don’t like reporting things like this to the police and that’s a position I understand and respect to a certain degree.
But just think - that phone call may save someone's life.
Zero here .
Also zero the night before if I am workin or setting off early the following day .
My tolerance for booze is so low these days that any more than a couple and I feel like death for at least 24hrs.
I used to be able to drink like a fish with no problems just a bit fuzzy until I had consumed a mug of strong tea and a bacon butty .
Also zero the night before if I am workin or setting off early the following day .
My tolerance for booze is so low these days that any more than a couple and I feel like death for at least 24hrs.
I used to be able to drink like a fish with no problems just a bit fuzzy until I had consumed a mug of strong tea and a bacon butty .
Zero here .
Also zero the night before if I am workin or setting off early the following day .
My tolerance for booze is so low these days that any more than a couple and I feel like death for at least 24hrs.
I used to be able to drink like a fish with no problems just a bit fuzzy until I had consumed a mug of strong tea and a bacon butty .
Also zero the night before if I am workin or setting off early the following day .
My tolerance for booze is so low these days that any more than a couple and I feel like death for at least 24hrs.
I used to be able to drink like a fish with no problems just a bit fuzzy until I had consumed a mug of strong tea and a bacon butty .
Thanks for this Reg.
If I go out, I usually stay at a friends house nearby and drive home the next day. Closer the mid afternoon, and after a hearty breakfast, mind. I usually try to follow the 1 hour per unit consumed.
Two questions:
If you follow the rule of 1 hour per unit, when do you start counting? Once you've finished your first drink?
Is there a rule of thumb on 1 unit = 0.0? % blood/alcohol level? I'd say my build is that of your average man, so its a good guide for me.
If I go out, I usually stay at a friends house nearby and drive home the next day. Closer the mid afternoon, and after a hearty breakfast, mind. I usually try to follow the 1 hour per unit consumed.
Two questions:
If you follow the rule of 1 hour per unit, when do you start counting? Once you've finished your first drink?
Is there a rule of thumb on 1 unit = 0.0? % blood/alcohol level? I'd say my build is that of your average man, so its a good guide for me.
Reg Local said:
4% of all injury accidents are caused by drivers who are impaired by alcohol.
Can you confirm that 4% of all injury accidents are caused by drivers who are impaired by alcohol and not just involve a driver with alcohol in their systemNote I'm not disputing your figures just asking for clarification, as I remember 1/3rd of all accidents are caused by speed.
One of the key things about drink-driving that really gets my goat is the (perceived?) unfairness of accidents that involve drink-drivers. It almost always seems to be the case that the drink-driver walks away unhurt whereas the other innocent party gets injured.
If it was a case of drink-drivers disappearing off cliff edges or into trees with no other parties getting injured then I'd be happy that this was natural selection in action. It never quite seems to be the case though.
If it was a case of drink-drivers disappearing off cliff edges or into trees with no other parties getting injured then I'd be happy that this was natural selection in action. It never quite seems to be the case though.
SiH said:
One of the key things about drink-driving that really gets my goat is the (perceived?) unfairness of accidents that involve drink-drivers. It almost always seems to be the case that the drink-driver walks away unhurt whereas the other innocent party gets injured.
If it was a case of drink-drivers disappearing off cliff edges or into trees with no other parties getting injured then I'd be happy that this was natural selection in action. It never quite seems to be the case though.
Is that fact or you're own perception?If it was a case of drink-drivers disappearing off cliff edges or into trees with no other parties getting injured then I'd be happy that this was natural selection in action. It never quite seems to be the case though.
I never have alcohol immediately before getting behind the wheel but can't profess to be holier than though and never commuting by car or whatever after various evenings in pubs etc and that uncertainty played on my mind. I bought myself the top rated breath tester to be certain I was well under the limit.
It's all well and good saying I won't drink for 4 weeks after a 3 pint session after work one night but its not reality IMO. A trip to le mans only serves to think that this caution isn't applied throughout.
I've never knowingly been over the limit but trying to do the maths on pints/hour and all the other factors when trying to determine the morning after the night before was far too finger in the air for my liking.
It's all well and good saying I won't drink for 4 weeks after a 3 pint session after work one night but its not reality IMO. A trip to le mans only serves to think that this caution isn't applied throughout.
I've never knowingly been over the limit but trying to do the maths on pints/hour and all the other factors when trying to determine the morning after the night before was far too finger in the air for my liking.
Good point about strength and glass size.
The oft quoted limits of 'a couple of pints' or two glasses of wine are based on about 3% abv beer or small 125ml glasses and around 9/10% wines.
The 'standard' glass size in a pub is more likely to be 175ml these days and that cheeky Chardonnay more likely to be 12/13%. Go for the better value big glass and it could be 250ml.
The oft quoted limits of 'a couple of pints' or two glasses of wine are based on about 3% abv beer or small 125ml glasses and around 9/10% wines.
The 'standard' glass size in a pub is more likely to be 175ml these days and that cheeky Chardonnay more likely to be 12/13%. Go for the better value big glass and it could be 250ml.
cay said:
Can someone explain why the morning after calculation is meant to start when you stop drinking?
Surely the body is removing 1 unit per hour of alcohol constantly, why would it only start when you stop drinking?
If I drink a Pint every two hours all day would I be drunk?
It's not - the calc should be from your first drink, not your last.Surely the body is removing 1 unit per hour of alcohol constantly, why would it only start when you stop drinking?
If I drink a Pint every two hours all day would I be drunk?
First unit takes an hour to metabolise, each subsequent unit takes one hour. So start drinking at 8pm, drink 8 units and you are not free of alcohol until 9 hours - 5am. That's only an average as people differ but it's a good rough guide.
esxste said:
Is there a rule of thumb on 1 unit = 0.0? % blood/alcohol level? I'd say my build is that of your average man, so its a good guide for me.
No. As I mention in my post, everyone is different and there is no possible way to come up with such a rule of thumb.voyds9 said:
Reg Local said:
4% of all injury accidents are caused by drivers who are impaired by alcohol.
Can you confirm that 4% of all injury accidents are caused by drivers who are impaired by alcohol and not just involve a driver with alcohol" in their systemNote I'm not disputing your figures just asking for clarification, as I remember 1/3rd of all accidents are caused by speed.
And the 1/3 figure is complete nonsense I'm afraid. Only 5% of injury accidents in 2014 had "exceeding the speed limit" as a contributory factor and only 7% had "drivng too fast for the conditions" as a contributory factor.
Reg Local said:
DFT statistics - out of 115,673 injury accidents in 2014, police officers recorded "Driver/rider impaired by alcohol as a contributory factor in 4,679 accidents - 4%.
Given that a breath test seems to be routine at most incidents.If someone is over the DD limit but, arguably, they didn't contribute to an accident resulting in injury, (for instance the drink driver, not breaking any other laws, gets T-boned by a red light jumper), is this counted in the statistics?
I'm fully aware that the drink driver is breaking the law, i'm not after an argument, just interested in how the statistics are complied.
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