Too much to drink for driving?

[IceBergJam]

Is drinking 9 - 10 drinks, finishing at 0100 and driving at 0830 too much or not?

I have a breathalyser which is suitable for the morning after - has given me a couple of surprises when we thought we would be ok to drive and discovered we are still over the limit!

Iceberg - the one I have is meant to be quite accurate. I make sure only to drive when it is not registering any alcohol at all, rather than when there is alcohol but below limit, as that allows for any margin of error.

It is not to be used when you are drinking and is only suitable for morning after. I can't remember the name of it but will find out and let you know.

Thank you.

OP, I taught my younger brother to drive when he was 17 (many years ago). I know all about the invincibility of the young male.

One of the things that really hit home with him, albeit in the context of speeding (although I think it would be the same in terms of drinking and driving), was when I talked him through what would happen to him and everyone else involved if he ever ran over a kid who just happened to run into the street in front of his car, laughing and not looking.

I wasn't patronising about it, I just calmly talked him through the reasonable consequences.

He hadn't thought, just hadn't thought, about what would happen to our parents, the child's parents, the child's siblings, his own job prospects - let alone how this would sit on his conscience. I was a bit alarmist (but only a bit) when I reasoned about how fine the line is between negligence (as you'd want to explain it to yourself) and murder, when you deliberately or unthinkingly decide to speed (or drink and drive).

He came to his own conclusion that it simply wasn't worth it.

Bright teenagers would, I think.

When I was a teenager a friend of mine did just this. Drinking until 2am and then in the car at 8am. He woke up in hospital with a broken arm. His girlfirend was in a coma for 6 weeks. He lost his licence and had a criminal record for life. He was unable to take up his place at law school and his record will mean that he will NEVER be able to become a teacher/lawyer etc.

If you can make him feel guilty then do so. Just please make him realise the damage that he could have caused.

Does he acknowledge that there may still be alcohol in his system even if he thinks (wrongly) that he's under the limit?

Some teenagers take messages on board via music better than explanation, if he's one of those people there's a song he should listen to by Lisa Schaffer called 'Just One' - it made me tear up the first time I listened to it.

Depends on what time you start tbh. I believe the average person clears 1 unit per hour from their system, so if you start at say 7pm you should be fully sober by 8am the next day, obviously if you neck 10 units in 2 hours finishing at 1am you will still be over the limit the next morning (and probably wake up in a&e anyhow having vomited copiously all over yourself before passing out)
Still wouldn't chance it though, it's not worth the risk to yourself and others.

Definitely shouldn't be driving the next morning, and questionable whether he should be driving in the next 24 hours at all. If you want to drive the next day dont get plastered.

Twatty it's 9-10 drinks, not 9-10 units so its almost certain he would still be over the limit the next morning.

OP, I know binge drinking is popular, God knows why though. I think that framing it in terms of how it would affect his life in the future is a good idea. Or to ask him how he would react if it was his friend who was convicted of drink driving. Would he visit them? Write to them regularly?

Great advice on this thread.

I wish people that irresponsible and stupid weren't allowed to drive

You lose one unit per hour from your sysytem, which begins 20 minutes after you start drinking. To work out the units you need to know the abv % of the drink and the measure it was served as.
So a pint of 5% lager / beer / cider is:
The measure in ml multiplied by the % then divide by 1000 to get the units 568ml x 5 / 1000 = 2.84 units

ten of these is a hefty 28.4 units. So a lot longer to leave your system than you might think. These figures are affected by several things including stature of the consumer, and food eaten etc. Many people have driven having left what they thought was long enough, and been very surprised to learn they are over the limit.

GrowSome - the roads would be a lot quieter....

Sorry 9 to 10 drinks the night before driving at 8.30 the next morning of course he was hungover or did I get that wrong?

I know 2 people who have been convicted of drunk driving having been caught the next morning. In both cases they say they drank considerably less than your DSD. I can't confirm that as I wasn't with them but you are absolutely right.

In both cases they lost their license for 18 mths. In the case of one person she has subsequently been denied a visa to visit her elderly father abroad. The consequences for them have been huge BUT they are nothing compared to how horrendous it would have been if they had hit someone.

The driver who wrote off my car with my toddler in it didn't seem drunk at 11am on a Saturday morning either. Police breathalysed her and arrested her. Get him to imagine phoning you from the station.

OMG, Noble Giraffe. Did your toddler live? It's unclear from the message. How utter ghastly.

That's what I think all drivers should keep in mind: how they'd feel if by being over the limit they caused harm even death to others.