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Original poster

Drink driving-is 4 pints too much? Should pubs do more to stop known drink drivers?

66 replies

Drivingmissdaisydoo · 06/03/2022 14:45

NC for this. I am very against drink driving and won't allow anyone to drive me if I know they've had even one drink or know them to take drugs that affect their ability to drive legal or otherwise. This is because of childhood trauma.
I know someone who regularly has 4 pints then drives home. They are well known at their local and the bar staff know this person drives home. Is 4 pints too much? We are talking a person weighing 10 stone with a small build and elderley. Should bar staff do more or would it cause them too many issues and it's not their job to police if people drive after drinking in their pub? I'm tee total and can't drive due to disability so my view might not be realistic at all.

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 06/03/2022 14:46

Of course 4 is too much. I'm in Scotland and 1 drink would put you over the limit here. I wouldn't have any drinks if driving.

Sexnotgender · 06/03/2022 14:47

Fucking hell, 4 pints is far too much.

That’s the equivalent of 8 G&Ts, would you drive after 8 gins?

Lovelteers · 06/03/2022 14:48

That's twice the drink drive limit for ,most people, and deffo over the limit for ANYONE. Next time that person gets in a car after 4 pints I would either challenge them or call the police. It's only a matter of time before they hurt or kill someone drunk in their car.

Moonface88 · 06/03/2022 14:48

Yeah that's more than double the legal limit (in England) It's more common than you think, I've worked in bars where regulars did this daily, and had been doing so for years. Doesn't make it right though obviously.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 06/03/2022 14:48

4 is too much but it is not the job of a bar staff on minimum wage to police this. They're there to serve customers, not to enforce the law.

PAFMO · 06/03/2022 14:49

It's not the pub's fault
It's the lowlife who's drinking and driving's fault.

Lovelteers · 06/03/2022 14:49

I did challenge someone in the pub. A friend of a friend. It didn't make me popular but he handed his fucking keys to a mate when I started to ring the police in front of him.

BlusteryLake · 06/03/2022 14:50

I think their obligation is only not to serve drunk people, rather than anything that happens after they leave. If I were that landlord, though, I would do more
Imagine the furore if this person were to drive home and kill someone on their way. It would then be "you've known for years they make a habit of drinking in your pub and then driving yet you have never done anything to stop it". That death would partly be on the landlord in my view.

GeneLovesJezebel · 06/03/2022 14:51

If you know them why don’t you ring 101 and give them the car reg and other details ?

R00K · 06/03/2022 14:53

If you know this person is drink driving, why aren't you calling the police Op? Why is it just down to the pub staff?

10001namechanges · 06/03/2022 14:53

I’ve known concerned members of the public phone the police and report that ‘John’ is in the White Lion pub and drives X car, registration number x x x has had a large amount of alcohol and appears to be getting ready to drive home.

Whammyyammy · 06/03/2022 14:56

It's not the pubs fault that this loser drinks 4 pints (twice the drink drive limit) and then drives.
I hope whoever it either stops this selfish act, gets caught by the police and banned/prosecuted, or crashes into a tree and causes no harm towards anyone else. As he/she is a selfish, worthless POS.

Lovelteers · 06/03/2022 14:56

'It's not the pub's fault
It's the lowlife who's drinking and driving's fault.'

If the pub service a bloke KNOWING that he then goes and gets in a car, and kills someone, the pub isn't legally at fault. BUT morally? Knowing that pissed bloke is headed for his car night after night? Would you service him? Or have the manager/owner have a quiet word telling them to stay under the limit, or get a cab home?

Lovelteers · 06/03/2022 14:58

If I was the landlord/lady - I'd have that drinker barred until they wised up.

Original poster
Drivingmissdaisydoo · 06/03/2022 14:58

Oh goodness, it's worse than I thought. Thank you for the responses. I don't know where they drink but I should be able to find out. It's a regular Friday night thing. They seem to think that by the time they get to the police station the alcohol will have miraculously disappeared and the initial reading at the roadside would be void. I don't think that's right.

OP posts:
alexdgr8 · 06/03/2022 14:59

so why dont you do something about it, OP ?

Original poster
Drivingmissdaisydoo · 06/03/2022 15:02

I'm going to.

OP posts:
EeeICouldRipATissue · 06/03/2022 15:03

Course it's too much!
It's way over the legal limit.
They're a danger

Lovelteers · 06/03/2022 15:04

'They seem to think that by the time they get to the police station the alcohol will have miraculously disappeared and the initial reading at the roadside would be void. I don't think that's right.'

If it's the police station they're taken to rather than the hospital or morgue, then a 2nd test will confirm the result. It would take more than 12 hours for that amount of alcohol to clear from someone. So If you went to bed at midnight -you'd probably still fail a breathalyzer at 8am the next day.

Jonny1265 · 06/03/2022 15:05

@Drivingmissdaisydoo

Oh goodness, it's worse than I thought. Thank you for the responses. I don't know where they drink but I should be able to find out. It's a regular Friday night thing. They seem to think that by the time they get to the police station the alcohol will have miraculously disappeared and the initial reading at the roadside would be void. I don't think that's right.
The blood alcohol might actually still be increasing dependent on when they had their last drink. The average person has a renal clearance rate of one unit an hour.
SquatsThoughtYouSaidShots · 06/03/2022 15:05

It is a pubs responsibility to some extent, it comes under our licensing objectives.
But to what extent you expect the pub to deal with it, we have a culture that it’s something we are very pro active with, but you do get a lot of shit for it ad customers can be cunts.
It may be they are ringing through and police not catching:chasing up,
Then it comes down to a premises actions, you drink drive from here you are on a ban for 3 to 6 months. To come back and have your car in the car park you hand over car keys, you drink drive a second time it’s a life ban.
But we are aware of other premises that don’t take such stances, small locals in the middle of no where with no taxi service turn a blind eye on occasions, a pub with a public car park although as visible as ours turn a blind eye.
We probably stop 4 drivers a week on adverage and the best outcome is yeah your right sorry, and they leave (very rare lad people
Take it as a direct insult to their life choices) more regularly you get a whole heap of mouth and on a rare occasion there is an assault commuted against a member of staff, which sadly happened recently.

watchtheglitterdustswirl · 06/03/2022 15:07

Oh yeah that's far too much! DH will have one pint, with a meal, and drive home. I would report someone who drank four and got behind the wheel!

Lovelteers · 06/03/2022 15:08

Seems your delightful friend is more concerned about getting away with it rather than any harm they may cause from getting behind a wheel unfit to drive. I just checked and 4 pints is actually around 4 x the limit or men.
They'd throw the book at him/her.

SquatsThoughtYouSaidShots · 06/03/2022 15:09

Also I’m aware of a male that was caught by the police after a premises rung him through for drink driving (11 pints there, apparently an alcoholic so who knows what else he may have drunk).
He blew 33 at the side of the road. Blown my mind.
We rung through males who were caught just outside pub, he had drunk 6 pints and blew under the limit also.