To be fuming with MIL and Husband?

How did he think he'd get away with his lie that they'd got a lift? Did he think you wouldn't notice MIL car there? The fact he told a lie means he knew he'd done something wrong otherwise why not admit he'd driven? Probably because the 'only 3 beers' was a fabrication too.

I too would be very pissed off by their actions and I'm not sure I'd enjoy a weekend away in the circumstances.

Ultimately this comes down to trust. If he only had 3 and didn’t drink after 7 when you left and he didn’t drive until 11pm then he would almost certainly be fine (although I wouldn’t have driven at all until the next day). If you don’t trust him and MIL then I’d assume you wouldn’t leave your children with either of them anyway?

3 beers all day with food would be fine. Did he appear drunk? Not a chance i’d allow a child of mine to drive when they’d been drinking. Scares me how many people drink and drink. I found out a lady from our hobby group drove someone home after at least 2/3 of a bottle of wine. I’d have told them not to drive, i told another friend not to have a second (small) glass of wine when she was driving home straight after. She claimed 2 drinks is fine, but it is not.

I wouldn't be happy with him driving after three drinks to be honest. Three drinks is over the limit. But I'm thinking he likely had more anyway

The limit in Scotland is higher, rightly so

It's lower in Scotland 😊

The limit in Scotland is higher, rightly so. If you're driving you simply don't drink that day/night, and if you're drinking a fair bit you probably also shouldn't drive the next morning. He shouldn't have driven.

Why did he feel the need to lie about it? Has he driven when he's over the limit before?

In Scotland the drink driving limit is very strict. Even one pint would put someone over the limit.
Like other posters I would assume if he initially lied about driving then he is lying about the amount he had actually drunk.

He’ll be just fine getting up nice and early with the children then…

He lied about the drive home so is 💯 lying about how many drinks he had.

Take MIL’s car keys and his and go on the weekend break alone.

He’s said he had 3 beers throughout the day and that this is fine to drive on. I’m not sure this is true though, not sure how I would know for sure either way

If he did have 3 beers throughout the day, he was more than fine to drive. I’d plan to drive myself if that was the case, would definitely be under the limit (for where I’m located), and I’d be fine driving. Depending on size and strength of a drink you can possibly even have 3 of an even g and still be fine to drive, but again dependant on size, strength of drink and individual, it’s fairly variable.

Was he drunk when he came home indicating he’d had way more?

That would be a deal breaker for me. I don’t think anyone who has had a drink should be behind the wheel. I really wish it was a zero tolerance policy on drink driving. I wouldn’t be with or even friends with anyone who felt differently

How much did he drink when you were with him? Did he actually just drink beer (no wine for the toasts)? Like others, I would assume 3 = 5 or 6 pints at least. And why initially lie that someone else drove them home if he genuinely thought he was well under the legal limit?

I'm not condoning drink driving at all. Three pints is over the legal limit so he wasn't fine to drive.

But what people don't consider when they are over the limit is that they are just as at risk as at any other time of having an accident that is not their fault. If another driver, cyclist or pedestrian causes an accident and smells alcohol on their breath, or even just wants to deflect their responsibility by saying they caused it, they could be breathalysed.

If he thought he was ok to drive why did he initially lie to say they’d had a lift? That would make me suspicious he knew he wasn’t really safe to drive and it was more than the three.

So which was it as you've said drinking all day and he said three beers, you must have some recollection of roughly what he had to drink.

How did he appear when he got home. 3 beers all would have probably looked stone cold sober.

If he genuinely had 3 pints all day then he was pretty much definitely under the limit (not sure of Scottish limit though) and driving wouldn’t have been an issue, any more and I’d be absolutely fuming.

A local man who was a husband and a father of three, was killed when he crashed his car. He had “only drunk 7 pints”. WTF? Only? Apparently he was well known to have up to 15 pints as he was a big rugby fella. Well, 7 pints is over the limit and, whilst his death is tragic, at least he didn’t kill anyone else. I cannot abide drunk drivers.

I suppose it hinges on whether he really had 3 beers or not.

How many had he had by the time you left at 7pm?

I personally wouldn’t drink 3 beers and drive, and wouldn’t want my DH or DS to, but if spread out throughout a whole day he may well have been under the limit. Borderline though and you can’t be sure. I’d be having stern words about taking risks like that but I wouldn’t cancel the trip.

3 beers is fine for a day out? I would stick to 2 drinks with food if driving, but dh could easily have 3 and would pass a breathalyser with flying colours. Did he seem drunk?

if he was drink driving you’re right to be horrified. If he has carefully paced a few drinks to safely and soberly drive home you’re overreacting a lot?

He's fine, they're fine. A whole day thing with lots of food, he was probably fine. I've been to weddings where I down a few glasses of prosecco at midday, get buzzed, gorge on food and cake, and am annoyingly sober by midnight.

Unless he's an alcoholic with a history of drunk driving, I think you are blowing it out of proportion.

If it is really 3 all day with food he was probably fine.
If it was 5-6 he very likely wasn't.
A lot depends on what your mil is usually like. Obviously you'd usually trust her with your DC. Is this a wedding-only lapse? I get that you're angry but I'd try to separate that from an actual assessment of the risk.

He’s minimising to shut you down. He’s lying.

Was he drunk?

Three beers throughout the day with food doesn’t sound like much.

Not sure of the laws there, is that beyond the limit?