Hi chaps,

I’ve never been able to figure out what the drink drive limit is in Scotland. I know it’s 22mg per 100ml of breath, but I have no idea what that means in real terms.

In the news it appears it’s less than a pint.

One pint warning issued to drivers – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-36149020

Unless they’re lying, and had more than a pint.

A year ban seems like a lot if you’ve had a single pint. I don’t drink anything if I’m driving, but it’d still be good to know what the limit in real terms means. (I know it depends on metabolism, strength of drink, bow much food you’ve eaten..).

Cheers

Ricks

A year ban seems like a lot if you’ve had a single pint.

Seems too little to me.

But yes they essentially lowered so 1 pint is enough. Well done Scotland.

Simple rule really

If unsure dont do it

As there are so many variables that effect the result then why take the risk in the first place.

I think everyone who’s been awake in the past few years will have heard it’s generally reckoned to be under a pint in Scotland. I certainly knew, I don’t even live there (though I do visit).

Don’t have any, the limit will cover probably the morning affer/residual

Ignorance of the law is not an alibi. There was so much nonsense spouted about the previous (higher) limit too – I regularly heard “two pints is fine”.

I have no idea what that means in real terms.

In real terms it means that the limit has been set low enough that you can’t really have an actual alcoholic drink of any description and high enough that they don’t need to prosecute anyone who’s eaten a sherry trifle…. because, as we all know…

De minimis non curat lex.*

*This is a shite Law joke in Latin. Solicitors** all over the country are pissing themselves right now. 😳

** and possibly Ancient Romans.

what he said
Don’t drink if you want to drive

its not that complicated a rule to follow

The new limit in Scotland is essentially zero. It was set at 22 to avoid people being over the limit from eating say a stew that was made using red wine, a chocolate liqueur etc.

Edit. Beaten to it by perchy!

ooops wrong one. 😳

I think, especially in Scotland and most of mainland Europe were the limits are lower than in England & Wales they want to do away the idea that you can drink “a little bit” and drive – the limit is more a buffer for things like food with trace amount of alcohol in it, if someone’s just used mouthwash or had a drink the day before or something.

There is no safe way to determine how much you can drink before driving, it’s theoretically possible to be over the limit on a small or relatively large amount, I wouldn’t even trust one of the home testers you can buy, if you get caught over you’ll be banned, cause an accident, even if alcohol wasn’t a factor (in theory) and you might face prison. It’s just not worth it anymore.

Whether it’s fair or not is open for debate, when I was young most people considered 2 pints of weaker lager the limit for driving, when my parents were young it was “Five and Drive – don’t have that 6th pint if you’re driving”, the roads were quieter back then, but lots of people died every year from drink driving.

the limit will cover probably the morning affer/residual

The way I see some folk drinking, it certainly won’t cover them for the morning after!

but I have no idea what that means in real terms.

In real terms if I’m driving I don’t have any alcohol, that makes things much easier.

Welcome to the SNP’s nanny state.

Along with airgun licences for all.

58 people were convicted of airgun crimes in Scotland last year

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/how-long-for-booze-to-leave-the-body

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/drink-driving-question-probably-daft-but-who-knows

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/lower-drink-driving-limit

Welcome to the SNP’s nanny state

Oooook!

The Scottish Parliament voted unanimously in favour of the new law

say a stew that was made using red wine

That wouldn’t be a problem unless you poured it in just before serving, though. Which would be really stupid.

it’s in essence a zero policy. But there is a small allowable limit for those on medication etc that can give a positive reading. In short, don’t drink at all if you will be driving soon after.

The Scottish Parliament voted unanimously in favour of the new law

Gah! How dare you post actual facts, spoil a good bitchwhine!

a good bitchwine

Hey b r, if you don’t like the way the country is being run, you could always try living somewhere else.
I like the very low alcohol limit, it seems to be working quite well. It’s a bit like the (quite effective) average speed limit on the A9, where for the first time ever in a 12 month period, no-one died in a road accident last year.
Funny coincidence that…

😕 It’s more than twice the limit here. (0,5 BAC compared to 0,2 BAC)

Seems extremely generous for a “you can have some sherry trifle and not get busted” limit.

How much sherry trifle do you lot eat?

How much sherry trifle do you lot eat?

Only one or two a day.

How much trifle have you to offer?

The question

“I’ve never been able to figure out what the drink drive limit is in Scotland. I know it’s 22mg per 100ml of breath, but I have no idea what that means in real terms.”

implies you know what the limit is in “real terms” in the rest of the UK. Given that in actual terms it is 35 v’s 22 mg/100mL I think you could estimate the limit at 62% of the the English limit. Given that a “pint” varies between about 3.5% and 5.5% depending on the beer (excluding the outliers) then you already have a huge variation. Add to that the factors you already know about: height, weight, normal consumption (liver “capacity”), stomach content, time of consumption etc… and its impossible to predict a useful quantity of alcohol that you can buy and be sure to be within the limit.

Now lets think about the two people you linked to in the article:
(1) Was measured at 35 mg/100mL. He claimed to have had a pint (of cider). The implication was he would have been legal in England. In reality if he had been conveyed to a police station with an full breathalyser quicker he might not have been. Unless he was very “unlucky” his sample wasn’t taken at “peak” breath alcohol.
(2) Was measured at 32 mg/100mL. Again given he was “caught” in Dalbeattie it probably took quite a while to get him to a police station and collect his evidential samples (even if they caught him leaving the pub they would have waited at least 20 minutes after his last drink before testing).

Now how sure are you that with “just one pint” you are actually under the English limit?

How much sherry trifle do you lot eat?

Not many, I mean who doesn’t like a sherry trifle? I bet you have a sherry trifle or two on a weekend.

Not many, I mean who doesn’t like a sherry trifle? I bet you have a sherry trifle or two on a weekend.

I must admit to being a bit of a binge-trifler.

I don’t normally have any sherry trifles during the week, maybe just the one with my tea one night. But at the weekends sometime I’ll go out with my friends and have 10 or 12 trifles in one go.

What we need is more of a continental culture, where we eat fewer sherry trifles in one go, but spread them out a bit more.

Sherry trifles I can cope with.

It’s those bloody chocolate liqueurs!

If they lower it in England I will certainly invest in a breathalyser of some sort for morning after driving. I don’t ever have “one pint” and drive but do have a beer or three on a weekend and “feeling ok” the morning after just isn’t going to be good enough.

My parents began giving me watered down sherry trifles from the age of eight.

Has anyone had their sherry trifle spiked? My wife came home after having a night out, her friends says she he her usual amount and the suddenly started acting weird. Normally she can take her sherry trifle so this was unusual.

If they lower it in England I will certainly invest in a breathalyser of some sort for morning after driving. I don’t ever have “one pint” and drive but do have a beer or three on a weekend and “feeling ok” the morning after just isn’t going to be good enough.

If only there was another way.

All this trifle abuse… the law remains unconcerned. 😉

Bollocks. All this talk about spiking sherry trifles is just covering up for a lack of responsibility. She was probably mixing some strawberry and raspberry flavoured jellies.

Or was it the brandy snaps?

She only had 2 Brandy snaps her friends had the same but they also had something to drink. I wonder if it was a knock off Bird’s Trifle there’s no telling what they put in them.

Last summer I went walking in the Cheviots and at the end went for a drink in Kirk Yetholm.
The very first thing the barman said to me was ” are you driving? If so I wouldn’t have more than 1/2 pint “

I thought this very responsible and was grateful. Even though less than a mile away the limit is much higher.

I had an orange and soda

I had an orange and soda

With a sherry trifle chaser?

So you can’t ride a bike on the road after a pint ? STW is full of photos of after ride pints, even mid ride pints. Banned in Scotland ?