None for the road!

Christmas is a time for family get-togethers, celebrations and office parties. But if you are planning to drive anywhere this festive season, the only safe option is to say ‘no’ to alcohol.

Don’t let your friends or colleagues get behind the wheel if they have been drinking and ever accept a lift from someone who has consumed alcohol.

The legal drink drive limit in the UK is:

• 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath
• 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

Driving at just twice the legal limit increases your chances of causing a road collision by at least 30 times. This risk multiplies the more you drink.

Alcohol affects your ability to drive safely. It impairs your reaction times and makes it difficult for you to judge speed and distances.

The morning after the night before
 
Alcohol is still in your system the day after a night out.  Around 1 in 6 convicted drink drivers are caught the morning after.

It takes at least an hour for alcohol to absorb into your bloodstream. Below is an indication of the length of time it takes for alcohol to be removed from your blood stream once it had been absorbed.

Example 1
If you drink four pints of strong lager, you can't drive for at least 13 hours – 1 hour for the alcohol to absorb, plus 3 hours for each pint to remove itself your bloodstream. So if you finish drinking at midnight, you shouldn’t drive until after 1pm the next day.

Example 2
If you drink five alcopops, you can't drive for at least 11 hours - 1 hour for the alcohol to absorb, plus 2 hours for each alcopop to remove itself from your bloodstream . So if you finish drinking at 1am, you shouldn’t drive until after 12 noon the next day.