Would you drink a beer or a glass of wine at dinner and drive home afterwards?

GarIT · 24-07-2018 09:50PM

I regularly have 2 pints on a night out and drive home.

I go to a board games night that lasts from 8pm to 12pm and I have one pint at 8pm, and another before 10pm and drive home between 12am and 12:30am. I reckon that if a pint is around 2 units, and your liver can clear a unit an hour I can have 4 units in 4 hours and be fine, especially when you factor in I'm 6"1' and 190lbs so I'm fairly sure I'd be under whatever tolerance is allowed.

I've been thinking of getting a breathalyzer to be sure, I'm usually a scaredy cat that won't break any laws, I almost never speed for example but the math seems to work out on this one.

24-07-2018 09:55PM

I've seen lab studies saying one drink affects driving abilities, but I've never seen a study showing that people with one or two drinks in their system were involved in more accidents than those with zero alcohol. My father drove with drink on board all his life, as did the vast majority of his peers. He was always slower and more careful with a few beers on board and never caused harm, not that I'm advocating that behaviour now. Society changed - we also used to persecute gays, and make women retire after they married. Roll on self driving cars, I say.

Drifter50 · 24-07-2018 10:13PM

_Brian wrote: »

Heineken zero is decent enough.

Yep, you`re spot on there, Heineken Zero is the nearest thing I`ve tasted to the real thing. Find I cant drink more than 2 bottles of the Erdinger. So now, I`m in the pub after the game, couple of bottles of Heineken Zero and off home.

Now if they could get it on a tap, that would be a game changer

riemann · 24-07-2018 10:19PM

Drifter50 wrote: »

Yep, you`re spot on there, Heineken Zero is the nearest thing I`ve tasted to the real thing. Find I cant drink more than 2 bottles of the Erdinger. So now, I`m in the pub after the game, couple of bottles of Heineken Zero and off home.

Now if they could get it on a tap, that would be a game changer

Why is heinenen zero so expensive? No alcohol = No extra tax?

Hell will freeze over before I pay 6eur for a non alcoholic drink.

24-07-2018 10:28PM

Deedsie wrote: »

A fine contribution to the discussion. Which is more of an inconvenience having a coffee instead of a pint or being put off the road?

I think some peoples attitude when it comes to drink driving is incredibly selfish and childish. Wah wah wah i cant dwink and dwive home after anymore. As if you should ever have in the first place.

Call me a safety sally or whatever you want, drunk drivers who do cause horrific accidents all start on one pint.

I think some peoples attitude when it comes to drink driving is incredibly selfish and childish. Wah wah wah i cant dwink and dwive

What about this

Wah Wah Wah I can't text and drive any more or Wah Wah Wah I can't drive at 60 + Km/h any more in 50 Km/h areas, there's far more people I'd say breaking the 50 Km/h limit and texting while driving who will have the audacity to look down their noses at the person who has a drink or two and drives home !!!!!

riemann · 24-07-2018 10:28PM

Deedsie wrote: »

Call me a safety sally or whatever you want, drunk drivers who do cause horrific accidents all start on one pint.

And drivers who tear along at double the speed limit, passed it on the way.

Ursus Horribilis · 24-07-2018 10:37PM

It depends when afterwards is. I'll have a beer or a glass of wine if I know I'll not be getting behind the wheel of the car for 3-4 hours. Less than that, I won't chance it. I like that there are some better tasting alcohol free beers coming onto the market now. That new Heinken one isn't bad at all.

24-07-2018 10:41PM

So should shift workers be banned from driving home after a Night Shift ? I got to say I feel far worse after a few night shifts than even 3 pints.

In one of my old jobs back in the 00's I drove behind a car in Wicklow, and the car hit the ditch and turned on it's roof, I had to cut to poor Girl out of the seat belt and pull her out the window, turns out she was a Nurse driving home after nights.

I've had some very very dodgy moments driving home that 2-3 points could never match !

Wishbone Ash · 24-07-2018 10:44PM

RobAMerc wrote: »

See, the thing is, I dont drink wine to get a thrill, I drink it because it is part of the meal and compliments my food. Not to get pissed !

I'd love to be like that but unfortunately I'm not one of those 'glass of wine' people. I don't enjoy it unless I have a bottle or two or 5 or 6 pints of beer. Therefore I much prefer to have none. If the drink driving limit was 3 or 4 pints, I'd still prefer to have none than stick to 3 or 4 pints.

Pretzill · 24-07-2018 11:27PM

No. I'm a learner though so I think a pint/glass would put me over the limit... same reason I won't drink the night before I have to drive early. I enjoy a drink but not worth the risk IMO also one drink would impair my reflexes and wits - I'm a lightweight.

DaveyDave · 25-07-2018 12:07AM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

So should shift workers be banned from driving home after a Night Shift ? I got to say I feel far worse after a few night shifts than even 3 pints.

In one of my old jobs back in the 00's I drove behind a car in Wicklow, and the car hit the ditch and turned on it's roof, I had to cut to poor Girl out of the seat belt and pull her out the window, turns out she was a Nurse driving home after nights.

I've had some very very dodgy moments driving home that 2-3 points could never match !

I've probably been worse off driving to work on a morning shift with 4 hours sleep than I would be with one pint in the evening.

Gorgeousgeorge · 25-07-2018 12:12AM

No. Im not a lightweight and can happily drink 8 pints and not be hammered but i know that 1 pint does make me tingly so my driving without a doubt would be dodge.

25-07-2018 12:14AM

DaveyDave wrote: »

I've probably been worse off driving to work on a morning shift with 4 hours sleep than I would be with one pint in the evening.

Try working shift and a Child that woke up every single night for 3 years with night terrors. Would have you on the brink !

JoeA3 · 25-07-2018 12:35AM

I’d occasionally have one beer, usually with a meal, say Sunday lunch or something like that, and drive immediately afterwards. I feel that’s OK and that I’d be well within the limits. I’d probably feel my safe limit is one and I’d avoid wine/spirits for sure.

Realistically though, what are the chances of getting pulled over? In 20 odd years of driving I can only recall going through a checkpoint once.

GreeBo · 25-07-2018 12:37AM

Unless you are seriously inhaling your dinner, a single drink is going to be long through your system when you drive home 1-2 hours later.

Or am I missing something from the poll?

Roger_007 · 25-07-2018 01:08AM

I regularly drink and drive. A lot of people I know react to that statement with shock and surprise.
When I go out for a meal, I always have either a pint of beer or a glass of wine. I usually drive home afterwards, (I live out in the sticks so I've not much alternative). I've been breathalysed twice in the last three years and passed ok.
I see nothing wrong with what I do. If my behaviour was dangerous, why is the blood alcohol legal limit not set to catch me.
I assume that the alcohol limits are set at a level up to where there is no substantial effect on a persons ability to drive. If I am under that limit, then I'm as safe to drive as any other time.
I fully intend to carry on doing what I'm doing.

tcawley29 · 25-07-2018 03:14AM

Deedsie wrote: »

A fine contribution to the discussion. Which is more of an inconvenience having a coffee instead of a pint or being put off the road?

I think some peoples attitude when it comes to drink driving is incredibly selfish and childish. Wah wah wah i cant dwink and dwive home after anymore. As if you should ever have in the first place.

Call me a safety sally or whatever you want, drunk drivers who do cause horrific accidents all start on one pint.

Realistically who is going to be drunk after two pints?

Peregrinus · 25-07-2018 03:41AM

tcawley29 wrote: »

Realistically who is going to be drunk after two pints?

The question is not whether you're drunk, in the sense that we mostly use the word "drunk", but whether your driving ability is materially impaired, which happens well before you're "drunk" in the usual sense, or whether you are over the blood-alcohol limit. Depending on your metabolism, and on the time period over which you drank the two pints, two pints could well put someone over the limit.

tcawley29 · 25-07-2018 05:36AM

Peregrinus wrote: »

The question is not whether you're drunk, in the sense that we mostly use the word "drunk", but whether your driving ability is materially impaired, which happens well before you're "drunk" in the usual sense, or whether you are over the blood-alcohol limit. Depending on your metabolism, and on the time period over which you drank the two pints, two pints could well put someone over the limit.

But there is still people out there who, despite the fact they have two pints could still be less materially impaired than other people who have none

Peregrinus · 25-07-2018 06:17AM

tcawley29 wrote: »

But there is still people out there who, despite the fact they have two pints could still be less materially impaired than other people who have none

Well, people who have none are not impaired by alcohol at all, obviously (though they may of course be impaired by other factors). But, yes, some people are more impaired by two pints than others. This is true for all levels of alcohol intake,.

I don't think that matters. What matters is for me is how much worse my driving is after two pints than it is after no pints. For the great majority of us, it's measurably and materially worse (though we typically fail to appreciate it).

And the great majority of us, within an hour of drinking two pints of regular-strength beer, will be over the limit as far as the drink driving laws are concerned.

The OP asks whether we would take one drink, and then drive home. I haven't read through the thread to see the rationale for framing the question this way, but I suspect it's an awareness that two drinks will put you over the limit, and people might say they wouldn't do it because they risk getting caught, rather than because they know their driving is impaired.

Even at one drink, your driving ability is somewhat impaired. Divided attention (the ability to make decisions about two or more tasks that the same time - e.g. driving and conversing, driving and listening to the radio, watching your speed and watching for pedestrians) is impaired by almost any level of alcohol. So is tracking, the ability to maintain your driving position in a changing environment. These are initially low levels of impairment, obviously. When you get up to one standard drink, then you have further skills impaired - reaction time, vision, then vigilance. At about one-and-a-half standard drinks, perception (the ability to process and make sense of information presented to us) starts to decline.

Obviously, this differs for different individuals; we're only talking about what is typical here. Equally obviously, impaired/unimpaired isn't a simple binary; there are levels of impairment, and at low blood-alcohol levels impariment is low. But that doesn't mean it's immaterial. Not many people would have a driving ability that is wholly unimpaired by one standard drink. Since it's generally legal to drive after one drink, it's down to the individual to make a decision about whether the degree of impairment they suffer is such that they should avoid driving in this circumstance, and I think that's what the OP's question seeks to elicit.

dr.fuzzenstein · 25-07-2018 07:45AM

tcawley29 wrote: »

But there is still people out there who, despite the fact they have two pints could still be less materially impaired than other people who have none

I can pretty much guarantee that (on a closed track for the sake of experiment) I can do better after 4 pints than a lot of people sober.
And that says less about me and more about some of the dingbats we have to share out roads with.
Just as an aside. I myself am very lucky that if I do go out and have a drink or two, my lovely wife (who doesn't drink) drives home.

OldMrBrennan83 · 25-07-2018 07:50AM

This post has been deleted.

Peatys · 25-07-2018 08:10AM

Deedsie wrote: »

Call me a safety sally or whatever you want, drunk drivers who do cause horrific accidents all start on one pint.

But this thread is about people who finish on one pint.

Fann Linn · 25-07-2018 09:47AM

Simple really. Can't afford to lose my job as a driver.
Its 'No' for me.

Peregrinus · 25-07-2018 10:13AM

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

I can pretty much guarantee that (on a closed track for the sake of experiment) I can do better after 4 pints than a lot of people sober.
And that says less about me and more about some of the dingbats we have to share out roads with..

It's a well-known fact that 90% of people are above-average drivers! Perhaps you're one of them?

blue note · 25-07-2018 10:46AM

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I find the comments on this thread concerning because it suggests to me that people aren't thinking about what's dangerous and not on the road. The people saying they'd drive home after a glass of beer or wine and saying they wouldn't after more drink clearly are putting thought into whether or not they're safe to drive. Those people who are condemning others for driving home after taking this amount of alcohol (in which case they're probably still under the limit and safe to drive) don't seem to be as concerned with what's safe as they are with what's "right." Dare I say there's even some virtue signalling "amn't I great that I'd never do that" regardless of the fact that there's nothing wrong with it.

On the other side of it, there are far more dangerous behaviours that carry little or no social stigma whatsoever. Or the same legal ramifications - how many times do you need to be caught speeding to lose your licence? Or not wearing a seatbelt, even though we've seen on the ads how dangerous to others that can be. And as for tired or distracted drivers, this is virtually impossible to legislate for so it needs to be policed socially. It needs to be unacceptable to drive home when all you can think about is getting some sleep. But there's no stigma attached to this at all.

CeilingFly · 25-07-2018 11:12AM

Deedsie wrote: »

Why? The government has decided that if you want to drive and share the road with other people dont drink beforehand. Is it really that big of an inconvenience? In my opinion the disgrace here is that this law is only coming in now.

The law has been there for years. Its the penalty that is being changed from fine for first offence for BAC of 50-80mg to a 3 month suspension.

Over 80 bac and its a 12 month suspension.

And the law does NOT say you cannot drink and drive - that is the biggest error every one of the PC brigade makes.

The laws states that you may not consume alcohol to a level that would put you above 50mg bac if you are driving. (other limits for new and professional drivers)

That level for most people is a single pint / single glass of wine consumed quickly and driving almost immediately.

For someone going out for an evening over 2-3 hours with consumption at a regular pace in that time, two pints will see you well under the limit as your body is processing the alcohol on an ongoing basis (average a pint per 2 hours)

GavRedKing · 25-07-2018 11:22AM

I'd have no problem having a glass of wine and driving home. Most I ever had was 2 pints on a work night out spread out over about 4 or 5 hours and drove home.

If I wanted to have more I'd leave the car at home, simple really.

Roger_007 · 25-07-2018 11:25AM

blue note wrote: »

I find the comments on this thread concerning because it suggests to me that people aren't thinking about what's dangerous and not on the road. The people saying they'd drive home after a glass of beer or wine and saying they wouldn't after more drink clearly are putting thought into whether or not they're safe to drive. Those people who are condemning others for driving home after taking this amount of alcohol (in which case they're probably still under the limit and safe to drive) don't seem to be as concerned with what's safe as they are with what's "right." Dare I say there's even some virtue signalling "amn't I great that I'd never do that" regardless of the fact that there's nothing wrong with it.

On the other side of it, there are far more dangerous behaviours that carry little or no social stigma whatsoever. Or the same legal ramifications - how many times do you need to be caught speeding to lose your licence? Or not wearing a seatbelt, even though we've seen on the ads how dangerous to others that can be. And as for tired or distracted drivers, this is virtually impossible to legislate for so it needs to be policed socially. It needs to be unacceptable to drive home when all you can think about is getting some sleep. But there's no stigma attached to this at all.

This post sums up the whole debate very well. The central issue is safety, not alcohol. This seems to be forgotten in some of the posts. They seem to concentrate on just one aspect of possible impairment of capabilitiy and ignore all others.
There are many factors which affect our capability to drive or carry out any other task. Drivers are rarely at 100% because in the normal business of living we have all sorts of issues going on. We often drive when we are a bit tired, or a bit emotional, or a bit impaired due to medication. We often drive with others in the car, especially children, who distract us in various ways.
If we were only allowed to drive when we are free from any impairment or distraction, there would be nobody on the road at all. That is why we must accept that a minor impairment is allowable and is perfectly safe most of the time. We must also accept that accidents will happen for a whole host of reasons and can never be completely eliminated.
The only way car accidents can be totally prevented is to prevent everyone from driving.

The Backwards Man · 25-07-2018 11:31AM

blue note wrote: »

I find the comments on this thread concerning because it suggests to me that people aren't thinking about what's dangerous and not on the road. The people saying they'd drive home after a glass of beer or wine and saying they wouldn't after more drink clearly are putting thought into whether or not they're safe to drive. Those people who are condemning others for driving home after taking this amount of alcohol (in which case they're probably still under the limit and safe to drive) don't seem to be as concerned with what's safe as they are with what's "right." Dare I say there's even some virtue signalling "amn't I great that I'd never do that" regardless of the fact that there's nothing wrong with it.

On the other side of it, there are far more dangerous behaviours that carry little or no social stigma whatsoever. Or the same legal ramifications - how many times do you need to be caught speeding to lose your licence? Or not wearing a seatbelt, even though we've seen on the ads how dangerous to others that can be. And as for tired or distracted drivers, this is virtually impossible to legislate for so it needs to be policed socially. It needs to be unacceptable to drive home when all you can think about is getting some sleep. But there's no stigma attached to this at all.

What's concerning is the lengths people will go to in justfying their choice of doing something that negatively affects their driving ability.

You can huff and puff about other drivers and what they do all you like, that doesn't change the choice that you are making.

Would you drink a beer or a glass of wine at dinner and drive home afterwards?

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