Discussion
Can someone please confirm what the levels of Drink driving are.
Is it zero tolerance? If not how many are you allowed before being 'over the limit'?
and how many units per mgs- if that makes sense?
How do you know if it affects you moe than other people?
And what are the timings- how long does it take to work off the units?
I dont drink drive but I will drive after a small glass of wine, but even after that I dont feel safe enough to drive, yet I know people who will have 2 pints then drive- saying it doesnt affect them, or that they feel fine.
Is it zero tolerance? If not how many are you allowed before being 'over the limit'?
and how many units per mgs- if that makes sense?
How do you know if it affects you moe than other people?
And what are the timings- how long does it take to work off the units?
I dont drink drive but I will drive after a small glass of wine, but even after that I dont feel safe enough to drive, yet I know people who will have 2 pints then drive- saying it doesnt affect them, or that they feel fine.
mxdi said:
Can someone please confirm what the levels of Drink driving are.
Is it zero tolerance? If not how many are you allowed before being 'over the limit'?
and how many units per mgs- if that makes sense?
How do you know if it affects you moe than other people?
And what are the timings- how long does it take to work off the units?
I dont drink drive but I will drive after a small glass of wine, but even after that I dont feel safe enough to drive, yet I know people who will have 2 pints then drive- saying it doesnt affect them, or that they feel fine.
At the risk of upsetting a few people I'll confirm that I am quite happy to drive after drinking a couple of pints. I would not claim that I am totally unaffected, but I am quite sure that suitable adjustments to my driving style can be relied upon to maintain a safe result.
It is doubtful if anyone can produce reliable answers to your questions mxdi, as there seem to be too many interacting variables, but let's see what others think.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
I'd second what Dave said, but alas driving is now my living, so don't even have one anymore. Used to have a couple and drive, got breathalysed three times as well, never showed on the gadget. I should point out though, thats a couple of pints over several hours, and nearly always with food. Nowadays? I rely on devons fine public transport network 
usually more expensive to get home, than it is to have a good drink.
Phil
usually more expensive to get home, than it is to have a good drink. Phil
I third what Dave says, a man of common sense.
I think alot will disagree with us though, as drinking and driving is now a taboo subject, socially disgracefull.
Millions of ppl will have a drink, one pint or a glass of wine and no more (yes really) and then drive home perfectly safely and within the law. Shame about the stigma all the emotional propaganda brings on them.
It's OTT in comparison to the problem, you have 90% more chance of contracting the MRSA superbug in a hospital and dieing ( it killed 5000 ppl last year) than being hit by a drunk driver.
Im in no way suggesting that makes it acceptable to drink over the limit and drive, ofcourse it doesnt, but it does put it into perspective IMO, when we get bombarded with the dont drink and drive message every day on the tv at great expense, but hear nothing about how to help with eradicating something that kills nearly 10 times as many ppl per year.
I think alot will disagree with us though, as drinking and driving is now a taboo subject, socially disgracefull.
Millions of ppl will have a drink, one pint or a glass of wine and no more (yes really) and then drive home perfectly safely and within the law. Shame about the stigma all the emotional propaganda brings on them.
It's OTT in comparison to the problem, you have 90% more chance of contracting the MRSA superbug in a hospital and dieing ( it killed 5000 ppl last year) than being hit by a drunk driver.
Im in no way suggesting that makes it acceptable to drink over the limit and drive, ofcourse it doesnt, but it does put it into perspective IMO, when we get bombarded with the dont drink and drive message every day on the tv at great expense, but hear nothing about how to help with eradicating something that kills nearly 10 times as many ppl per year.
mxdi said:35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath
Can someone please confirm what the levels of Drink driving are.
80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood
107 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine
mxdi said:No
Is it zero tolerance?
mxdi said:It varies - from person to person, and even for the same person at different times.
If not how many are you allowed before being 'over the limit'?
mxdi said:One unit is ROUGHLY equivalent to a pub measure of spirits, a small glass of wine, half a pint of normal strength (ie NOT Stella) beer or lager.
and how many units per mgs
mxdi said:Simple answer - you don't. Alcohol not only affects different people in different ways, it can affect you differently at different times, depending on what you've drunk, how quickly you've drunk it, whether you've eaten/drunk anything with it, how tired you are, your weight/body mass index/body fat content...
How do you know if it affects you moe than other people?
mxdi said:A rough guide is 7 microgrammes per hour, after you have finished drinking.
And what are the timings- how long does it take to work off the units?
The above is off the top of my head, if you need any further clarification, let me know.
Dibble said:
And what are the timings- how long does it take to work off the units?
A rough guide is 7 microgrammes per hour, after you have finished drinking.
The above is off the top of my head, if you need any further clarification, let me know.
But be warned that the levels increase before they decrease!
Blowing a negative test after leaving the pub 20 minutes ago may not see you blow a negative an hour later!
towman said:
I`ve never been much of a drinker (years of 24hr call outs), so even being under the limit affects me. 12hrs between bottle & throttle for me.
I've never been much of a drinker either, too much alcohol simply does not suit me, apart from other possible problems.
With some people it seems as if they haven't had a good night out unless they're got thoroughly drunk, thrown up a time or two and made themselves a complete pest. I don't really see the attractions of that.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
gone said:
mxdi said:
And what are the timings- how long does it take to work off the units?
A rough guide is 7 microgrammes per hour, after you have finished drinking.
The above is off the top of my head, if you need any further clarification, let me know.
But be warned that the levels increase before they decrease!
Blowing a negative test after leaving the pub 20 minutes ago may not see you blow a negative an hour later!
That's an interesting point, and I imagine that factor is often overlooked.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
wolves_wanderer said:
I'm quite happy to have a pint at the start of the evening and drive home, despite what the recent crusade would have you believe it is entirely possible to limit yourself to one pint.
I'll do that. If your finishing your 1 pint by 21:00. Then by 02:30 i'd expect to be under the limit.....
gone said:
mxdi said:
And what are the timings- how long does it take to work off the units?
A rough guide is 7 microgrammes per hour, after you have finished drinking.
The above is off the top of my head, if you need any further clarification, let me know.
But be warned that the levels increase before they decrease!
Blowing a negative test after leaving the pub 20 minutes ago may not see you blow a negative an hour later!
Blimey! Food for thought...
gone said:
mxdi said:
And what are the timings- how long does it take to work off the units?
A rough guide is 7 microgrammes per hour, after you have finished drinking.
The above is off the top of my head, if you need any further clarification, let me know.
But be warned that the levels increase before they decrease!
Blowing a negative test after leaving the pub 20 minutes ago may not see you blow a negative an hour later!
Am I right in thinking there is a rule or guideline that states that BiB should wait at least 20 minutes after a person has had a drink before asking them to take the breathalyser?
I agree with most of what has been said here but would also add that many blokes consider two pints to be the rought limit. Whilst this should never be used as a definitive guide (for the reasons already stated), you should remember that two pints of premium lager contains a lot more alcohol than the standard stuff (it can be getting close the twice the ABV).
Personally, the car tends to stay at home on pub nights (like the beer too much and like my car too much to leave it at the pub!) but will have a couple of bottles of lager or a glass of wine if out for a meal and driving. Similarly, I've been stopped and breathalysed after three Stella Shandies one evening and was fine, but I wouldn't like to guarantee that every time...
kevinday said:So after 1 pint you wouldn't drive for 7 hours even though you know you would be under the legal limit?
Excellent posts from Dibble and Gone.
I would just comment that when drinking (very rarely) I would not get behind the wheel of a car in less than 6 + x hours from starting to drink (where x = number of units consumed).
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