Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

DH drinks & drives - should I whistle blow?

214 replies

abbdabb · 11/10/2011 21:38

... and if I do, can it be anonymous?

Don't know what to do, how much is too much?

DH can drink a large amount & not appear to be drunk. he then drives. I have told him he should take a taxi, he tells me he is OK to drive because he has had something to eat.

What are the limits? I, personally would not drive after having ANY alcohol - maybe I'm being a bit anal about the whole thing?

OP posts:
FreckledLeopard · 11/10/2011 21:40

What's a large amount? Personally, anything over 1-2 glasses of wine is risky. Yes, you can report anonymously.

rubyslippers · 11/10/2011 21:40

You aren't anal

He could kill or injure someone

The limits are lower than you think -

I would hide his car keys if he goes out

I would be raging if I was you

You can call the police if you know someone is drinking and driving

jkklpu · 11/10/2011 21:42

Take the keys. He could kill or injure someone else, not only himself. Where's he going? Are you a driver, too, and you could take turns when you go out?

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Driving & parking
FrightNight · 11/10/2011 21:46

You could ask my mum. Her dad was killed by a drunk driver.

Meglet · 11/10/2011 21:48

Tell the police.

I wouldn't drive after a mouthful of wine and am very intolerant of people who do.

thisisyesterday · 11/10/2011 21:49

yes, of course you should report him

he's a fucking moron. please report him before he ends up killing someone.

GiganticusBottomus · 11/10/2011 21:52

Yes, report him. I wouldn't want to be you if he mows down a load of people at a bus stop and you could have stopped him.

Original poster
abbdabb · 11/10/2011 21:52

Do I phone the local police station number - how does it work?

This is a frequent thing.

Is half a bottle of red & a meal too much, does it depend on an individuals capacity etc?

OP posts:
PattySimcox · 11/10/2011 21:52

Yes. Unquestionably. If you can't physically stop him - either talking him out of it or taking the keys away then yes you need to report him.

My friends mum and sister were in a car that was hit by a drunk driver when she was a child. Her mum died and her sister lost her sight and had other injuries. Please don't let anyone else suffer this.

jade80 · 11/10/2011 21:52

Before you report him, print off a list of the allowed limits and what this equals in what he normally drinks. Anything more than a couple of pints over a couple of hours will put him over the limit. Show him the penalties for being caught- loss of licence for at least a year etc etc. Then if he does it again, shop him. If he's been doing it for years he's probably just never caught up with current thinking and laws on it and doesn't 'get' the consequences. It didn't have the same stigma in the past, it sounds like he's still caught in the same way of thinking.

JeanBodel · 11/10/2011 21:53

You should whistle blow, yes. Yes yes yes yes yes.

KarlaFromMoscowCentre · 11/10/2011 21:54

You need to ask? Blimey.

I think police would look out for car reg and stop him as if by coincidence.

slartybartfast · 11/10/2011 21:55

but why would you want to report him, make him lose his license? get a fine?

you shoudl talk to him but report him Hmm?

slartybartfast · 11/10/2011 21:56

who is in the car?
you
your dc?

dont allow the dc in the car and dont get in teh car.

Original poster
abbdabb · 11/10/2011 21:57

He thinks he is above the law.

I think I can't allow him to do this.

Jade - allowed limits - where do i find this - they seem to differ.

this has been going on for years.

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 11/10/2011 21:58

Individuals don't have different capacities for drink - the amount he feels the effects will be different to how someone else might feel them, but the drink-drive limit is about the level in his blood. A meal won't make any difference, only time.

You can buy breath testing kits in Boots if you think he's actually unaware rather than deliberately flouting the law. Half a bottle of wine will almost definitely put him over the limit.

DawnOfTheDeementedDead · 11/10/2011 21:58

Slarty - why the hell would she not report him??

She's talked to him about it, he's ignored her.

I'd be telling the police and then i'd tell him that i'd shopped him.

jade80 · 11/10/2011 21:59

BTW working on assumptions, half a bottle of red would be anywhere from 4-6 or maybe slightly more units. It clears from the blood at about 1 unit per hour. Meal is irrelevant. It's hard to say how many units is ok, but I think anything over 3 would probably be dodgy ground. Depends on the individual though, how big he is, metabolism etc. So it'd be at least 3 hours and quite possibly more before he's ok to drive.

BikeRunSki · 11/10/2011 21:59

He is putting his life at risk
He is putting your life at risk
He is putting anybody else's life at risk
He is putting his livelyhood at risk
... and yours, and anybody else's.
... and the health of all those people.

1/2 a bottle of wine is far too much.

I would ring local police. They'll know what to do. I am sure if you say you want to report something anonymously they'll respect that. Can you use a phone box?

GiganticusBottomus · 11/10/2011 21:59

Slarty - it sounds like OP has spoken to him and his incredibly arrogant answer is that he can handle it. If he is so much as 1 mg over the limit he will be banned for a year and fined. If he's not over the limit maybe being stopped by the police might give him the giant kick up the arse that he needs to stop drinking and driving.

BertieBotts · 11/10/2011 21:59

Ah xposted. So he does know he's breaking the law but thinks he won't get caught. Then report him if you can't take his keys - they won't tell him it was you. Just give his reg number and rough location.

slartybartfast · 11/10/2011 22:00

a breath testing thign from boots sounds a good idea. imo

jade80 · 11/10/2011 22:00

Allowed limits are not done per unit, but by how much is in blood/urine. So you can't really equate it directly. See here

''What is the drink driving limit?
In the UK the drink driving limit is:

35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath; or
80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood; or
107 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine.

How many units can I drink before driving?
The legal drink drive limit cannot be safely converted into a certain number of units, as it depends on a number of factors to include gender, body mass and how quickly your body absorbs alcohol into the blood stream.

Can drinking coffee or having a cold shower help to sober me up?
No, drinking coffee or having a cold shower will not sober you up as this does not remove alcohol from your blood stream.

How long do the effects of alcohol take to wear off?
On average it takes one hour for a healthy liver to process one unit of alcohol. However, it does depend on your body mass, gender and how much food you have consumed. Even if you feel fine after drinking heavily in the evening there is still a high possibility that you will be above the legal limit should you drive the following morning.

What constitutes a unit of alcohol?
One unit of alcohol is 10ml (1cl) by volume or 8g by weight, of pure alcohol.''

Any help?

Bossybritches22 · 11/10/2011 22:01

Do you have DC's abbdabb?

Threaten him with reporting if he puts them & you in danger.

Tell him HE may think he is OK but even if he IS, if someone else makes a mistake & he crashed he will be stuck with drunk driving, and how would he feel if it was his family?

Just refuse to get in the car until he hands over the keys.

HerdOfTinyElephants · 11/10/2011 22:01

Half a bottle of red will probably be about 4.5 units, depending on the wine. If that's consumed over a long enough period with a meal and his weight is high enough he might come out under the limit, but I'd normally assume someone who'd drunk that much was comfortably over the limit.

Could you get a personal breathalyzer to show him how high his alcohol levels really are after a meal and half a bottle of wine?

Swipe left for the next trending thread