Yesterday I was enjoying a couple of beers with a friend at my local beer garden.    He had his car with him and planned to drive home.  We were ensure if he could legally drive after two pints (large beers), so we ended up walking back to my house and leaving the car near the bar. 

We then got on the subject on how much you can drink legally and still drive.  Of course it is true that you shouldn’t drink any alcohol and drive but I will would like to knoe..

In the UK, if your caught drink driving by the police it usually results in year(s) driving ban if you get caught, plus fines etc.  If you cause an accident, well then your in real trouble so if your driving while under the influence your playing a dangerous game.   

In the real world though,  its not uncommon for people to have a quick drink, and then drive so here’s the info I found out on this controversial subject.  A very rough approximation of what a “typical” man and woman can drink, while staying under the limit is as follows:

 Men: 4 units before over the limit

Women: 3 units before being over the limit 

However there are loads of different factors that really make it impossible to know how much alcohol is in your blood at any one time.  A persons weight, size and metabolism are a big factor.  Also how quickly the drinks are consumed as well as alcohol strengh of the beverage play an important role.

So really, its impossible to say if you are over the legal driving limit at any one time. 

The simple answer must be to not drink and drive to stay legal and safe, or if you must do it,  do it slowly and very sparingly.

The Number of approximate units of alcohol in the following popular drinks:

  • A pint of Lager/Cider - 2.3 units
  • A pint of Strong Lager/Cider - 3 units
  • A pint of strong lager - 3 units
  • 175ml Wine - 2 Units
  • 250ml Wine - 3 Units
  • Pub measure of Spirits - 1 Unit
  • Typical alcopop bottle - 1.5 Unit