Driving the next day

[Yourenotthebossofmenow]

I had a lot of wine last night but no idea how much, my glass was being topped up. I hardly ever drink and generally not more than a few glasses so I checked an online calculator, guessing I had 7 glasses of wine and I can't drive until 7pm!! Totally unexpected and means I will need to change my days plans.

I'm wondering though how many people are aware it can take that long? I have friends who I think are driving the following day on a regular basis.

7 large glasses or small? I have 3 large glasses and that's a bottle. My wine has about 9 units in a bottle so 1 hour for 1 unit would mean no driving for 9 hours. I stopped drinking at 11pm so should be ok by 8am ish (although I wouldn't be out of bed at that time on a saturday!) When did you stop drinking?

I guessed at 7 medium sized glasses...175ml. Stopped by midnight. I think it was coming up as 19 units/19 hours.

I never drive the day after I've been drinking. Never.

Dh does though.

Depends on the strength of the wine too. If you dont drink much normally are you not feeling incredibly hungover as 19 units is a large amount? My Pinot Grigio is 12.3% and 3 large glasses of that is the same as 6 small glasses of wine (125ml) but has only 9.2 units

It's not quite 1 unit per hour, but this is a good rule of thumb as it will overestimate the time you need to wait.

If you're slight/small and drink rarely, this will also affect the amount of time it's in your system for. And alcohol affects women more than men even when adjusted for body size and tolerance, apparently.

I had a bottle of red last night at 13%, that calculator (well, the first one on google!) said I should wait 11 hours - which feels about right. What tine did you stop drinking if you can’t drink all day?!

I have worked in places with proper calibrated intoximeters, I have breathalyesd myself on several occasions the day after a heavy session and it always came up zero. Having said that, I would never drive the day after a big session! I do think many of those who get caught " the morning after" have, in reality, had a drink in the morning. But we all have different metabolisms so who knows?

I've used this before to estimate, which is a bit more accurate.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_alcohol_content#Estimated_blood_alcohol_content_by_intake

Scroll to the table just above the heading "Binge Drinking".

You can also guess your blood alcohol level based on the chart explaining what different levels of alcohol feel like, although of course that's a bit more risky.

I do know people who have been banned for being caught driving the day after, when they had assumed they would be sober. You do need to be careful. You can buy home breath testing kits, if you want to maximise the time you are able to drive.

We have a house rule that you just don't touch the car the next day. I don't want my teens to be trying to work out how long it takes however many units. One miscalculation and it's life changing.

How many units does it say on the bottle? I used the drinkaware calculator and it says your bottle of red would be 9.2 units

www.drinkaware.co.uk/understand-your-drinking/unit-calculator

I am very tired but that's it. I was expecting to feel worse, feeling very lucky not to be hungover.

I recall from younger years I got off fairly lightly with hangovers.

I think I might be overestimating the amount I had but can't take a chance. Lesson learnt for future, have written of my plans for today.

7 x 175mm is a bottle and three quarters which is a hell of a lot for someone who doesn't drink a lot. I suspect it was a lot less than this if you are not badly hungover this morning.

Also alcohol starts being processed when you drink it not when you stop drinking so that seems a bit of an over the top way of calculating. If you were drinking over a long period then some of the alcohol is definitely being processed during the drinking time.

I drink regularly, rarely more than a bottle which says it is 9.5 units. It's drunk over around 5 hours, I stop drinking by 11 and would happily drive after 8 am. If I did drink bottles though I'm pretty sure I wouldn't feel like driving until at least mid afternoon and would avoid it all day if possible.

Definitely depends on the person I Had a heavy night last night, definitely feeling it today, however I was up at 6 this morning driving and handling firearms.

@Hisdoeherbuck

I do hope you are not genuine.

Why wouldn’t I be

Because if you had a heavy night you would not be fit to drive at 6am.

@Hisdoeherbuck

Really

I know if I’ve had a heavy night that I just won’t be touching the car the next day.
Dp is not as lenient as me but is cautious. Will leave it until lunchtime if he’s had a few the night before.
I’ve had two vodkas this evening and will be in the car tomorrow at 8am without a second thought (other than how furious I will be at having to go out so early).

In Scotland the limit is even lower. There was a thread on here just a few weeks ago and a lot of people still believed myths like drinking lots of water or coffee or getting a good sleep will sober you out. Only time will do that!

It's even longer for spirits. I had a bottle of wine last Friday night, spent all of Saturday in bed and still had a headache on Sunday. I haven't touched a drop since. (And I am 175cm, and 100kilos). I never drink anything, and then drive also

Most people wouldn't have a 24-36 hour hangover from a bottle of wine though would they?

Say 12 units, stop drinking at 10 pm, you're stone cold sober by mid morning the next day and likely to be below the limit well before that.

Most people wouldn't have a 24-36 hour hangover from a bottle of wine though would they

But how long you are hungover is absolutely nothing to do with how long it takes alcohol to leave your body.

Yes but some people are saying they wouldn't go near a car the next day when they would quite probably be fine to drive

Why do people only count the time from when they stop drinking? Your body starts to process the alcohol straight away, not only when you stop.