Driving after drinking alcohol

ladymarmalade1970

Yorkie1 wrote: »

I *think* France requires you to carry 2, which meet a particular EU kite mark or similar.



Couple of interesting points here re. legal limit v fitness to drive. The devices purport to show whether at that moment in time your breath alcohol reading is above or below the legal limit - i.e. whether you are legal to drive.

As you rightly point out, feeling fit to drive isn't a good indicator as to legality to drive; someone who regularly consumes alcohol may be over the limit but feel fine, whereas someone who drinks rarely may be unfit to drive - but legal according to the breath alcohol level.

I am really dredging memory now, but I *think* that 5 units of alcohol approximated to the legal limit (subject to all the info mentioned earlier in thread from the research quote).



Another thing to bear in mind is that the machines are a snapshot in time - and that alcohol limits can continue to rise for some time after you stop drinking. So it's possible to use one just before you leave the pub, but become over the limit by the time you get home. Tricky to judge!

Good point re the having a quick one before you go however the device i brought states you shouldn't have drunk alcohol or smoked (not sure what this has to do with it?) for at LEAST 30 mins before you test. Like you said, guessing it takes a bit of time to get into your system.

I would never drive on mine if it said i was close to the limit but i have to say the next morning i have never had a high reading. Saying that, it's not like i go to bed early hours or drink loads when i have work the next day or have to go out etc.

Before i had this i worked on units as someone else said - and its an hour for every unit of alcohol you consume, but this is a general rule and differs for smaller and larger people considerably i would imagine.

ladymarmalade1970

Should add i haven't ever had a low reading either...

Savvy_Sue

HurdyGurdy wrote: »

I didn't know they were available to "joe public". I will look into one of these. As stated before, neither of us drink very much, so it would be good to know how affected we are by the alcohol.

required in France, so you have to buy them somewhere in the UK in order to be legal on arrival there.

Yorkie1 wrote: »

I *think* France requires you to carry 2, which meet a particular EU kite mark or similar.

I thought that too, so that when you've used one you've still got a spare. I wasn't sure what they do if they find you've only got one because you HAVE used the other.

Ah! I've found out here! They dropped the sanction for not having one, so you still have to have one but won't be fined if you don't. Only the French ...