To be fuming with MIL and Husband?

Only if he drunk them in an hour or two. Your body breaks down alcohol over the course of the day. Apparently it breaks down one unit an hour I would be too worried myself to trust this as I value my licence top much and would be annoyed with husband if he appeared remotely tipsy and drove but if it was 3 pints over the course of the day into the evening, I expect he would be fine.

I think this and the trip are separate.

id go on the trip as it gives you and opportunity to have a proper chat about it. I think a quiet chat if at all with MIL that you dont condone and a reminder about kids and impaired judgement

this is why people stay over at weddings!

Some beers are quite weak and your body loses something like one unit per hour, so if you'd downed 2 pints of beer that were 2 units each you'd probably be under the limit (I think around 2 units here) a couple of hours later. It does take a while for the alcohol to get in your bloodstream though so this is a very rough guide.

If he had 3 beers why on arrival home did he not say ‘oh i drove because i only had three beers spread through the day so i would be fine to drive home.’

He initially lied to the op about getting a lift and was found out so obviously is lying about the beer to try and placate the op.

If he had only had three drinks and was fine then why did he lie about getting a lift?

OP didn't say he'd had 3 pints. Maybe he lied as he knew OP was likely to kick off and he didn't want the day to end like that.

Was he drunk? 3 beers over the duration of the wedding could easily be fine.

For people with a drink problem maybe for those without it doesn’t.

Depends on timings and the beer, if he had a couple of pints at lunchtime and another at 5 pm and not high alcohol content he'd be unlikely to be over the limit. Also depends if it's 3 pints or 3. Bottles as that's also a big difference.

I think saying he'd been drinking all day is an exaggeration if it was 3. I mean I had a breakfast lunch and dinner yesterday but I wouldn't say I'd been eating all day

This is on the money ^

What always confuses me in these situations is ....is this the first time he's ever had alcohol and driven and then lied? If so, I assume its out of character, a one off. Probably won't happen again

If he's got form for this - why are you surprised and in a way, if its a no from you, have you considered BEFORE this time, what you're going to do about it ?

It depends on when he drank them and the strength of the beers and the size of the glass and other factors. But he could well be right. Is he usually responsible? Does he often drink a lot?

Also, were his beers pints ( 568mls) or cans/bottles ( typically 330mls each)?

Only he knows this.

Pass a breathalyser with ‘flying colours’?!
Like it’s a grand achievement?
I don’t see why anyone who is driving NEEDS to have 3 beers. They should stick to lemonade or get a taxi if they can’t manage to stay booze free for the day.
He is lying about how much he drank if he was noticeably drunk and his mother is an enabling idiot who will lie for her dumb son too.

Eating food has nothing to do with it; it makes you feel less drunk, but the essence is, that you metabolise a unit an hour, so if he is being entirely honest about his 3 beers, ( and their alcohol/volume) it would not be too difficult to work out if he was safe to drive ( from a breathalyser point of view) or not.

Without knowing if his 3-pints all day claim is true it’s hard to tell but I wonder why he initially lied if he was so confident he was under the limit? Seems like he is lying because he knows he’s done wrong and I’d be fuming too.

If it was genuinely 3 beer over tge day with food he would probably be under the limit. It is more about whether you believe the 3 beers?

It really wouldn’t if he’d drunk it over 8-10 hours.

I would think three beers across the whole day is ok??? Unless he’s lying.

What a ridiculous comment! 3 beers will put him over the limit! What if he had hit and killed someone? Any drinking and driving should be a no no!

Can't edit - clearly I meant to write lower, not higher. Half asleep.

Oh heck sorry, half awake.
The limit is lower in Scotland, that's what I meant to write - hopefully the rest of my answer makes it clear that's what it's supposed to say! 🫣🫣🫣
I live in Scotland.

If he originally lied about getting a lift, he knows that he shouldn't have been driving. He is obviously lying about the amount that he drank as he knows that you saw him drinking so couldn't deny it completely. How likely is it that if he stayed after you took the children home, he didn't have anything else to drink?

A wedding is a long day and if he's had 3 beers spread out across potentially 12ish hours, he could be fine. However I think the fact he tried to lie about it tells you this wasn't the case.

I don’t know why people are saying three beers is ok? That seems a lot to me.Even if spread out through the day with food. I must be particularly easy to get drunk because I definitely wouldn’t be ok to drive.
The thing is is he lying. Probably because he lied about getting a lift so he knows full well he was over the limit.

Well if he really did only have 3 beers he’d not be drunk and fine to drive. Are you sure he’s drunk or are you just angry about something else?