drink driving limits
Sarah Ganderton
The current alcohol limit is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, but this cannot easily be translated into a number of alcoholic drinks because it can be different for everyone. The rate alcohol is absorbed by the body is affected by build, gender, the size and strength of the drink, your tolerance, weight, whether you're on medication, whether food has been eaten, and a host of other factors.
Only 10 minutes after having a drink, 50% of the alcohol will be in your bloodstream and after an hour all the alcohol will have been absorbed. On a typical night out you may easily have 200mg/100ml of alcohol in the blood by midnight, which will not be fully flushed out until the following afternoon.
So rather than try to stick to the limit it is better to avoid drinking and driving. Nominate a driver for the night who stays sober, or save enough money for the end of the night to get a taxi home.
Young drivers
1 in 12 drivers aged 17-25 thought they would not get caught if they exceeded the legal alcohol limit, but 1 in 25 older drivers thought the same, showing that older drivers are less likely to consider drink driving.
Women
42% of female motorists admitted getting behind the wheel while over the legal limit while 59% of men admitted the same.
It is feared part of the problem rests with a high drink-drive limit and confusion over what is 'safe to drink'.
4 in 5 UK drivers believe they may have driven the morning after a night’s drinking when the level of alcohol in their blood was still too high for them to drive legally. The level of alcohol cannot be altered by drinking coffee or taking cold showers, you just have to wait for the alcohol to be broken down by your body.
Insurance
A one year ban for drink driving can increase insurance premiums by as much as 100% and some insurance companies will not even provide comprehensive policies to drivers with a drink driving conviction.
Breathalysers
Alcohol breathalysers are used by police officers throughout the world to enforce drink driving laws. Invented in the USA in the 1930's, they were introduced in the UK in 1967.
In the UK a police officer can insist on a driver providing a roadside breath test if he has reasonable cause to believe the driver has committed a traffic offence, has been involved in an accident or has consumed alcohol.
Breathalysers are not just used by police officers but also by probation officers, correction officers, prison officers, doctors and nurses. Breathalysers in the workplace are becoming increasingly common, especially in jobs where there is risk involved and safety is paramount.
Those who do drink and drive tend to deny the impact of alcohol on their driving skills, but the penalties for driving over the limit are severe because the dangers are extreme: you can use your licence, be fined, or even imprisoned, even if you avoid any accidents on the road.
Drink driving is illegal because it poses a danger to those drink-driving as well as all other road-users. Drinking alcohol reduces co-ordination, increases reaction time, and impairs judgement of speed distance and risk.
References
First Driver’s Handbook, Haynes, 1993
http://www.insurancedaily.co.uk
http://www.insurancedaily.co.uk
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3303805.stm
