Drink and Driving - Avoid Exceeding Drink Drive Limit

I wanted to discuss drink driving in this article because last night I decided to pop out to the shops and then 2 of my friends called my mobile phone to ask me to meet them in one of the cities nightclubs. It was too late for me to catch a bus or taxi so I decided to leave my car in car park and stay within the alcohol limit for driving.

I don't get out often because I am always working hard on my online work and I hadn't seen these friends much since my days in school so I wanted it to be a fun night out.

Photo courtesy of drbeachvacation

Nah seriously though, I'm not being preachy because I quite often have the 1 unit alcohol limit if I go out with friends but I never exceed this. However last night I went out and I had 2 drinks over 5 hours, they were only 4% but I got stopped by the police while dropping my friends home and they asked why I was stopped at junction and I said my friend lived there. They asked me to do a breath test and I must say I was worried because the drink driving penalty is an instant ban from driving over at least 12 months. I think luck was on my side because the test came up PASS.

Photo courtesy of H.L.I.T

I guess it is true what those TV and Radio adverts describe when the man crys 'I can't lose my license, I've lost my job now what?'  I must admit I wasn't expecting to be in that situation, I did feel my heart sink a little.

I have now decided after 9 years of driving I should really invest in a handheld breathalyser because it is a wise piece of equipment that could save you from making a hasty decision to drive!

Photo courtesy of jwinokur

Although the people partying in the photo above think it is funny to be breathalysed it is a necessary undertaking to prevent drink driving accidents.  People usually think when they are out at night that its not so bad to have one or two drinks because there won't be any children around but it is not only children you have to be aware if you drink and drive, you could crash into someone else, crash your car and kill yourself or end up seriously injured.

Photo courtesy of magtravels

Most long time drivers have seen the police breathalysers at least once, they are not aesthetically pleasing but they are made to accurately measure the amount of alcohol on a drivers breath. The process of the test if you have been drink driving requires that you take a deep breath and blow long and hard into the white tube, the acceptable blood alcohol content in the UK is 0.08% or 80mg per 100ml of blood.

Photo courtesy of tellycars

I have included a lot of hand held breathalysers in Amazon capsules on this hub but this doesn't mean you can go out binge drinking and expect to pass a roadside breath test because these just give you a guide to go by. They are not the same equipment that the police use so the manufacturer does not take any legal responsibility.

Photo courtesy of breathalyzer

Some people think that drink driving limits can be affected by eating things such as strong chewing gum, mouthwash or eating after you have had a drink, however none of these methods have been verified by the authorities. In fact the police cannot test you if you have had your last drink within 20 minutes because the alcohol will not have been absorbed into your blood in this time.

If you eat something before you drink it is said that this will absorb some of the alcohol, I try to drink energy drinks or water after I have had the 1 unit alcohol limit for driving.

Photo courtesy of lgrst4