What Is the drink drive limit in UNITS ?
What Is the drink drive limit in UNITS ?
Author
Discussion

HertsBiker

Original Poster:

6,443 posts

302 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
I've searched for this, I believe it is 4 units, but would like to KNOW what is really is for certain.
I never worry about DD in an evening, but morning after could be a concern some days. It's strange how you can instantly tell that you feel OTT on the night, so won't drive.. But in the morning you feel fine, but are you really?
No I've never had an alcohol related accident in 28 years of motoring, so no preaching thank you.

55palfers

6,389 posts

195 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
I believe it varies according to metabolism, body mass and food intake.

Good luck.

andburg

8,764 posts

200 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
55palfers said:
I believe it varies according to metabolism, body mass and food intake.

Good luck.
100% correct, each individual will consume a differing amount of alcohol to be over 35mg/100ml limit.

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/alcoh...

personally i just wont risk a single drink

BritishRacinGrin

26,643 posts

191 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
4 units? I believe the guideline is 1. But I know for a fact that 1 unit registers at about quarter of the limit for me. Units are not a reliable guide, as the previous poster has already said...

Johna

2,328 posts

201 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
55palfers said:
I believe it varies according to metabolism, body mass and food intake.

Good luck.
+1

It's your blood alcohol level which is affected by all of the above so it's variable. A friend of mine goes by the limit of 1 pint(about 2 units) if he hasn't recently eaten and 1 1/2 pints if having meal.

grumpyscot

1,293 posts

223 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
And the limit is a lot, lot less in Scotland where the legal limit is lower. 1 pint is more than enough to put you over the new limit.

Devil2575

13,400 posts

219 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
55palfers said:
I believe it varies according to metabolism, body mass and food intake.

Good luck.
Slightly O/T but metabolism varies with body mass so the two things are effectively the same.

The old "I'm fat because I have a slow metabolism" argument is simply wrong.

HertsBiker

Original Poster:

6,443 posts

302 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
BritishRacinGrin said:
4 units? I believe the guideline is 1. But I know for a fact that 1 unit registers at about quarter of the limit for me. Units are not a reliable guide, as the previous poster has already said...
That sort of makes it 4 for you then...? If units are unreliable wonder why they are quoted?

lbc

3,340 posts

248 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
55palfers said:
I believe it varies according to metabolism, body mass and food intake.
It is different for everyone.

I have a reputable breath tester at home which I bought a few years ago just out of curiosity.

In general terms if I felt a bit drunk the tester told me I was over the limit,
and when I felt OK, the tester said I was below the limit.

This test will not apply to everyone, so don't assume you are ok to drive.

photosnob

1,339 posts

149 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
Devil2575 said:
Slightly O/T but metabolism varies with body mass so the two things are effectively the same.

The old "I'm fat because I have a slow metabolism" argument is simply wrong.
Metabolism is a lot lot more complicated than that...

wiliferus

4,223 posts

229 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
And this is why so many people get caught out. It has absolutely nothing to do with units, it's how your body copes with it.

I would (but don't) happily drive on two pints of Guiness, confident I would be under the limit and my ability and judgement suitably intact.
Get my missus to drink two pint of Guiness and wouldn't trust her with a sharp pencil, let alone a car, she'd be quite pissed. Same units consumed remember!

Some, but not all of the factors are - body mass, hydration, recent consumption of food, how used to alcohol your body is, and fatigue. They all have an influence on how your body deals with alcohol.
So in short, today you could have had a good day, lots of fluid at work, 3 square meals, and had a good nights sleep and you'd be under on two pints.
Tomorrow you could have a st nights sleep, busy day at work with no time to stop for food or refs so just grabbed a quick coffee. Two pints after work then could well put you over.


Devil2575

13,400 posts

219 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
photosnob said:
Devil2575 said:
Slightly O/T but metabolism varies with body mass so the two things are effectively the same.

The old "I'm fat because I have a slow metabolism" argument is simply wrong.
Metabolism is a lot lot more complicated than that...
Not what I heard.

I'm talking about resting metabolism.

There are other things that influence it such as muscle mass, climate, temperature, fitness levels etc etc, but as a general rule the bigger your body is the higher the rate of metabolism. This is simply because the bigger you are, the more cells you have.

Essentially my last point still stands. You can't blame being fat on having a slow metabolism, unless you have a specific problem such as with your thyroid.

Burwood

18,718 posts

277 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
HertsBiker said:
BritishRacinGrin said:
4 units? I believe the guideline is 1. But I know for a fact that 1 unit registers at about quarter of the limit for me. Units are not a reliable guide, as the previous poster has already said...
That sort of makes it 4 for you then...? If units are unreliable wonder why they are quoted?
4 is correct but isn't some get off free card. it's an average 13 stone male figure and you arrive at 80% of the limit with 1 unit per hour hereafter.

Aretnap

1,982 posts

182 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
HertsBiker said:
That sort of makes it 4 for you then...? If units are unreliable wonder why they are quoted?
Who quotes it at 4 units?

HertsBiker

Original Poster:

6,443 posts

302 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
^^^^^^ various internet sources, but it's all so vague. And if units aren't useful, why write it on the container? I know that the only guarantee is to drink nothing, however the law allows some leeway as we aren't all kids who get pissed and smash up our parents cars with our mates on board!

Funk

27,775 posts

240 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
Why even risk it, just for a pint?

Aretnap

1,982 posts

182 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
that be
HertsBiker said:
^^^^^^ various internet sources, but it's all so vague.
Good Lord, you mean that there's vague and unreliable information on the Internet? I'm shocked.

I don't think any vaguely authoritative body (eg police, government) has tried to put a figure on the amount you can safely drink before driving for many years, partly because the modern message is "just don't", but also partly because there's no figure which will be accurate for all people, and to would be irresponsible to suggest that you'll be legal after X units when some people won't.

I do vaguely remember government leaflets some time around the early 80s suggesting that you shouldn't have more than 2 (or perhaps even 3) pints if you're driving, but that was a very different era.

HertsBiker said:
And if units aren't useful, why write it on the container?
Not specifically to give you advice about driving. So you know how much alcohol you're drinking generally, so you know if you're exceeding your government approved quota of 21 units a week - there are many reasons why you might want to know how much alcohol your bottle of beer contains, and even more reasons why the powers that be think you should be told.

calibrax

4,788 posts

242 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
Quite simple. If you drink more than zero units, then don't drive.

Even a small amount of alcohol can impair your judgement and reactions, and that split second reduction in your reaction time could mean the difference between avoiding or causing a serious accident.

Sounds overdramatic? yes, but that's no comfort when you're in the hospital...

bryan35

1,906 posts

272 months

Friday 9th January 2015
quotequote all
My personal 'rule of thumb' is that a pint of beer will cost you 2 hours, so every pint you have ticks the clocks forward 2 hours before you're ok to drive again. eg, Start drinking at 8pm and have 4 pints, it'll be 4am before you're ok to drive again.
(note: I'm not an expert on human physiology, chemistry, biology or maths)




Basically the legal drive limit (not Scotland) is 35ug per 100ml of breath. A pint is generally 2 units, and each unit puts your level up by about 7.5ug making a pint 15ug. From this you could argue that you could have about 2.5 pints before reaching the drink drive limit, and as you can't really ingest that much all in one go, you could probably have 3 pints before reaching the limit. I've always thought this a bit high to be honest, as even half a pint inhibits driving. You typically metabolize 7.5ug an hour, so it takes about 2 hours to 'lose' a pint of beer.
When you think, if you add the 'allowance' of 2.5 pints to '2 hours a pint', you've got to put it back a bit to be guilty of drink driving, and from that, in my opinion, anyone caught drink driving deserves everything they get.

In Scotland, the limit has been reduced to 22ug, which is about 1.5 pints, which in my opinion is a good idea.

Black_S3

2,847 posts

219 months

Friday 9th January 2015
quotequote all
Probably better to start thinking the drink drive limit is to allow for driving the morning after, rather than thinking how much you can drink before driving home. #imnotabrakewkerpromise