How many of these would it take to put the average male over the drink driving limit?

Context – End of the day, drinking during a 1hr train journey before getting behind the wheel and driving from the station and DEFINITELY not me.

I’m going for one

It’s 5%, so pretty similar to beer. 3 would probably be fine legally.  4 might be over

In scotland less than one. England maybe 1.5 but very variable.

Where is the ‘average male’ going to drive?  The limit is lower in Scotland than in the rest of the UK (I’m assuming UK).

There is no hard and fast rule.  Build, food, tolerance to alcohol all have an impact and probably other factors like the weather!

assuming you are asking about the English drink drive limit that is 5% (so about the same as a reasonably strong beer) but is only 250mL so is about the equivalent to 1/2 pint of beer.  Crudely many people assume an adult male can consume 1pt and be fine.  Hardened drinker drivers possibly claim double that.  I wouldn’t be driving after 4 cans of that though!

If you have alcohol and drive then you’re a ****.

In scotland less than one. England maybe 1.5 but very variable

This IMO.

I’d say in the context you’ve given; 3 and you’d be over, 2 pushing it and 1 OK.

RM.

For most adults who like to have a bottle of wine every now and then , then drinking one or two of these in an hour before driving  is probably no more dangerous than taking your eyes off the road to change your radio station.

ps. I don’t drink drive ! And think that the drink drive limit should be changed to a zero tolerance level. Just so there is no doubt.

The save amount of alcohol you can drink before driving is, none. Zero. **** all.

2 and you might be ok, legally. 3 and i reckon your over.

I know it’s not your question but I hate it when people i know try to guess how much they can drink and still drive. Imo it is not worth playing such a risky/stupid game. Just do t drink if you are driving, problem solved.

2 pints is the limit. So 3-4 of those is fine.

5thElefant – no it’s not the prescribed limit (in E&W) is:

80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, 35 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath or 107 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of urine.

some people possibly can drink two pints and be under the limit, others will not.

2 pints is the limit.

Do people actually believe this is correct ?

1.25 units per can.

Should take about five or six to make sure for most people.

The drink drive limit is too high, and anyone who reckons they blew just over after only having two pints is a **** liar.

How many did he have? Impairment would begin with the first. 💡

Do people actually believe this is correct ?

Clearly some do. The limit is of course based upon a quantified amount of alcohol per unit of blood, breath or urine.

What it should be set at is debatable. Whilst there’s an apparent gain to be had (at least in terms of personal virtue signalling) in advocating for a zero level, this needs to be put into a more holistic context of factors influencing road safety. As with speed, just because BAC is easy to measure doesn’t necessarily mean zero tolerance would actually improve road safety above a low tolerance limit at a scientifically proven level. More effective driver education on the dangers of distraction, and a stronger policing presence to deter dangerous / lazy driving e.g. tailgating are possibly more effective overall.

Surely the end goal is to reduce the number of road injuries and fatalities by the most effective means. Reducing the limit to zero will have no effect on the **** heads who already drive whilst over the limit (which is at present quite high relative to other jurisdictions). What it would do is criminalise anyone who has a small glass of wine with their Sunday dinner. Pretty much the same outcome as continually dropping speed limits on rural roads – this has no effect on knob heads who treat it like their personal racetrack and end up backwards round a tree, but it does impact on those who drive carefully to the conditions.

On my commute I used to see people putting away 4 or 5 cans of Stella although not to my stop (at the end of the line) so less than 1 hour but the train company either started stopping people or put a limit on as the amounts seemed to have dropped down

as others have said impairment starts at 1

how many did you see drunk?

Impairment starts well under the English limit

As two or three others have pointed out…Impairment starts well under the English limit

s4 Influence of drink or drugs

Nobody can say how many drinks will put you over the limit (which is a number derived from US research part-funded by the Licensed Beverage Industry in 1964)

the prescribed limit (in E&W) is:

80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood

So, if you multiply that by 1000:

80 grammes of alcohol per 100 litres of blood.

The alcohol won’t be distributed evenly throughout the body, I guess the bones don’t absorb much, but it will be spread through the blood, muscle, and fat cells. If we assume that it is evenly spread through about 50 kg of watery tissue in an average male, then you have a ballpark figure of 40 grammes of alcohol to reach the legal limit.

One can of that contains 12.5 millilitres of alcohol, so about 10 grammes. Therefore, probably two cans is legal for someone weighing 75 kg or so, three maybe legal, four would be doubtful.

That’s obviously the legal limit, not what it’s advisable to do.

Drink driving is bad but according to people here, but you can have as much cannabis as you like

Depends Chris Froome could have 30 and be under the limit!

Yeah, but he metabolizes it differently.

Nobody can say how many drinks will put you over the limit

I think thats part of the rationale for lowering the limit north of the border. Its not a ‘zero’ as there can be trace levels of alcohol in all sorts of thing but in practical terms if you’re thinking of drinking before you drive it might as well be zero.

In England the limit is high enough that it allows you to think theres a ‘safe’ amount of alcohol to drink but no-one can tell you what that is – you can measure how much you have in your system after you’ve drunk it but you can’t say to the population at large ‘ X pints is ok ‘

People broadly have a perception of what they think is ok – and that is really base on what they’ve gotten away with so far – so then they are sure its OK and that whatever they drink is the correct amount – or ‘what they can handle’ if it seems to be a bit more than their friends think. However – count the instances in your driving career when you’ve be breathalysed- you’ve pretty much got zero evidence to draw on as to what the quantity you drink would have on the outcome of being tested.

What starts people on a path to drink driving is the sense that theres an ‘ok’ amount of alcohol to drink – that you can have that pint, or two, with the lads after work and not have to bugger about with taxis. Sometimes someone will buy you that extra drink, and you shouldn’t really but….. And the drive home terrified they’ll get caught. And they don’t. And next time theres a transgression – its ok again. The reality is the chances of getting into any kind of bother are really slim. Driving becomes no inconvenience to drinking  and because they have the evidence of their own experience that they’ve got away with it they form the opinion that ‘they can handle it’. Then it goes wrong.

Every drink driver stopped will tell the police that they haven’t had that much to drink – and in plenty of cases they probably genuinely believe that.

I’d be really interested in the data surrounding the shift in the limit in Scotland. What percentage of drivers stopped prior to the limit being lowered had alcohol limits below the old limit but above the new limit. And what percentage of drivers now have a level above the old limit.

I’m still amazed that people even contemplate having any alcohol when driving now. Take the guesswork out of it and have none.

if you’re driving you don’t drink simple.

if you are drinking and you are thinking about driving next day, don’t. I’ve seen too many aftermath of DD

I guess the bones don’t absorb much

well my legs go all wobbly so I think they do 🙂

North Wales police stopped a driver last week who gave a 233 reading 😕 how many of them would he have needed.

https://twitter.com/CMPG/status/1014952082422550528?s=19

Middle of the drink drive campaign and we’ve stopped a speeder at 110mph on the M6 in @StaffsPolice area. Driver under arrest after blowing over 5 times (!) the drink drive limit at the roadside.. shocking..
#fatal4

I reckon underlying dehydration will leave quite a few folk close to the mark after a couple of those.

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/motorist-blew-reading-six-times-14817372

I’m still amazed that people even contemplate having any alcohol when driving now.

Why? Within the limit it’s perfectly legal to do so.

End of the day, drinking during a 1hr train journey before getting behind the wheel and driving from the station and DEFINITELY not me.

As a daily rail commuter I always wonder how the ‘tins of M&S lager on a Tuesday’ crew are getting home from the station. Doubt it’s by bike.

Do people actually believe this is correct ?

You don’t have to be intelligent to have a belief.

Why? Within the limit it’s perfectly legal to do so.

maybe legal, but with so much guessing involved how much a person drink to be under why bother. if you really need a drink of alcohol that bad maybe it’s time to rethink your life.

Yes im amazed people are prepared to lose their life/job or worse kill an innocent person just because they fancy one for the road.

if you’ve dealt with as many RTCs involving DD as I have you wouldnt DD.

Holy hell, there’s no WAY I would drive after two pints!

2 pints is the limit. So 3-4 of those is fine.

got to be trolling

With sleep deprived or distracted driving being just as dangerous as drink driving, the sooner we have autonomous vehicles, the safer we’ll all be.

Out of interest, does anyone here that has a zero alcohol policy also never drive tired?

I had a pint of ordinary pub bitter shandy the other day (4%) and I certainly didn’t feel safe when I drove afterwards.  And normally I’m not an especially light drinker either.  Won’t be doing that again.

maybe legal, but with so much guessing involved how much a person drink to be under why bother. if you really need a drink of alcohol that bad maybe it’s time to rethink your life.

Ah good, the alcohol is bad mmmkay response. I see rational debate on this is unlikely to happen

if you’ve dealt with as many RTCs involving DD as I have you wouldnt DD.

How many were under the limit but alcohol noted as a contributory factor vs how many RTCs are there caused by other factors that should be more heavily educated / policed out? Are we trying to stop people who have a small drink driving per se, or are we actually trying to improve road safety. Because frankly if you think criminalising a responsible person who has a small glass of wine with a meal out will result in better road safety outcomes than actually policing inattentive / tired / careless driving then I’m afraid you may fail in that greater goal.