Drink Driving

Stabshauptmann

Drink driving is a very serious offence, that can see one put off the road for between 1 and 6 years.

While I know what the legal limits are, i.e that a crime is commented if you exceed a concentration of:
• 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100millilitres of blood. (Section 49(2));
• 107 mg of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine.;
• 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

what does that actually mean?

How many units of alcohol would one have to consume to be over the limit? I know how long it stays in your system depends on the person, so Im wondering whats the base.

Also, is it possible to purcahse your own breathaliser, so you can be sure you are under the legal limit? Im a paranoid individual, Im worried about having wine with my dinner, then driving home 2 hours later. Or driving to work after a boozy weekend.

BeerNut

Stabshauptmann wrote: »

Im wondering whats the base.

There's no "base" you can use practically to determine how much any individual can drink and stay under the limit. As you say it depends on the person, their size, their metabolic rate. The bottom line is: if you're planning to drive, do not drink. Any other approach is dangerous.

Stabshauptmann wrote: »

Also, is it possible to purcahse your own breathaliser

Yes.

Stabshauptmann wrote: »

so you can be sure you are under the legal limit?

No. When you stand up in court and present your own breathalyser evidence in contradiction to the Gardaí's it'll give the judge an amusing anecdote for his mates at the golf club, but you're still going down.

rubadub

BeerNut wrote: »

There's no "base" you can use practically to determine how much any individual can drink and stay under the limit.

Yes, an anorexic dwarf will have a higher blood alcohol level after 1 pint than a 30 stone heavy drinker. 2 identical twins of hte same weight would also have very different figures depending on type of drink (i.e. if it is fizzy, how strong it is) and how fast they drink it, how recently they ate, their own tolerance etc. It is all rough estimates.

There are some recommended brands of breathalyser by some authorities, cheap ones are useless and only meant as a joke. Good ones would not stand up in court as said.

pa990

even good ones need to be regularly calibrated, to ensure accuracey

IrishWhiskeyCha

Not a good idea using a breathalyser on yourself ... it is only going to encourage you to D&D. Even your own tolerance changes from day to day.

You could have 5 pint one day and not even feel them or 2 pints another day and they could make you drunk. It depends on so many factors as mentioned above.

I practice Zero tolerance on myself as it is the safest option ... you just never know ... is it worth losing your licence over a couple pints.

_blank_

I practice ZT also, if I've the car with me I drink water from the tap.

funnily enough, I was in a Porterhouse last Friday and was getting fairly frustrated with the barman, he knew I was drinking tap water, and started skipping me in the queue, and started to be rude to me.

So I left.

kenmc

Des wrote: »

funnily enough, I was in a Porterhouse last Friday and was getting fairly frustrated with the barman, he knew I was drinking tap water, and started skipping me in the queue, and started to be rude to me.
So I left.

Not entirely sure that's related to you drinking water tbh, I find many of the staff in there are as rude as you can get in the city center. Used love it until Bull and Castle came along. Still love porterhouse red and choc truffle stout, but generally don't give them too much else of my custom. Life is too short to be mistreated like that.