Drinking and driving: How much can I drink?

How much can I drink?

What people usually mean is: "How much can I drink and still remain below the drink-drive limit?"

Well the first answer to this question is that being under the limit does not mean you are safe. You can still crash, you can still die.

Being under the limit does not guarantee safety from prosecution either, you can be charged with the offence of being impaired through the affects of alcohol even if your blood alcohol ration is below the legal limit. Several studies have shown that a single measure of alcohol can affect reaction time and judgment.

When calculating how much to drink and stay within the legal limits, some people suggest 1 or 2 pints of beer or glasses of wine. This is dangerous territory. The amount that you can drink to stay within the legal limit will depend on a number of factors - age, weight, fitness, metabolism, health, etc. Because of this, these pages deliberately avoid offering guidance other than one drink is enough - no drink is better.

Measure for measure?

Wine varies in strength, between 8 and 15 percent alcohol, so what constitutes a 'glass'.

Wine glasses are generally larger than they used to be ...

A tot of spirits poured at home or at a party might be double or triple the measure in a pub.

It is virtually impossible to be sure that you are within the limit after one drink ... It is definitely impossible to tell whether one drink will be enough to make the difference between life and death - even after the fact ...

The morning after ...

Many years ago I had a bus driver friend, Pete.

Pete stopped drinking at about 2 am and lost his licence at 3 pm in the afternoon after someone bumped into his bus in Central London.

A policeman who ate with a meal and took a taxi home was arrested on his way to work at 6.30am the next morning - he was a responsible individual who recognised the dangers of drink driving - but he was still caught out, despite his sensible attitude the night before.

Airline pilots have a 'no alcohol for 24 hours before flying' rule. I suggest that all professional drivers follow the Swedish approach of no alcohol for at least 12 hours before driving.

Sadly, at least one driving instructor has found, to his cost, that despite getting a taxi home, you can be as vulnerable the morning after as you would be if you were to drive home the night before.

Click the forward arrow to learn how to avoid the risk ...