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

[Drivingmissdaisydoo]

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.

My Czech friends most definitely drink and drive. Especially in the sticks

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

That depends on what it is 4 pints of.

It is likely over the limit unless it is 4 pints of something low alcohol.

The pub has no responsibility though. Call the police when you know it is happening, if you are concerned.

'Assuming you eat, you may have a small amount of alcohol in your system right now, even if you've never drunk alcohol in your life.'

Well, I have been stopped and checked, as part of Xmas campaigns or whatever and haven't tested positive, so while what you say may be true, I don't think it's an argument for the drink drive limit not to be lowered...

I worked in a pub 25 years ago, every Monday early to mid-afternoon a group of old gents would come in, we were late on in their day of drinking, some would make us their last stop, others would go on to another place.

They would be rocking by the time they arrived, including the one driving the car. He would be so drunk he could hardly stand, let alone drive a car.

Then I learned that the time they usually left was just as the local schools were finishing.

We also had an off-duty copper who sometimes popped in for a pint. So I said to him "what should someone do if they are concerned that a customer is drink driving on, say, every Monday afternoon at 3.30, in this area?"

And he replied "I think they could maybe tell a local friendly police officer".

So I said "that's what I'll do then" and then we looked at one another for a moment.

The drink driver got nabbed and lost his licence.

I'd do the same again in a moment if I had to.

It’s part of their legal obligation as a license holder to prevent crimes associated with drinking.

That’s a real stretch and even the link you provided says nothing about them being held responsible if someone chooses to drink and drive.

I've driven drunk before, but was bizarre and extreme circumstances (literally fleeing from a violent man who was chasing me). Had no phone and screaming didnt work. So jumped in the car and drove home. Was very ashamed at what I did but at the time it felt like my only option.

It was also terrifying.

This bloke is a tosser

I wouldn't dare even have a sip anymore, am
In Scotland where the drink drive limit is even lower. My friends dad however frequently has 4 pints then drives home. He's been stopped for routine tests a number of times and never blown over the limit even with our lower limit so there must be some sort of individual variance.

@BoredZelda

It’s part of their legal obligation as a license holder to prevent crimes associated with drinking.

That’s a real stretch and even the link you provided says nothing about them being held responsible if someone chooses to drink and drive.

They don’t have to be held responsible for an individual choosing to drink drive for prevention to be their responsibility. The police are also tasked with crime prevention but aren’t held responsible for individual crimes.

I drove home for my DH the other night after 1 pint of not v strong beer, followed by a large curry and drank by a big man. Not worth the risk.

My friends dad however frequently has 4 pints then drives home. He's been stopped for routine tests a number of times and never blown over the limit even with our lower limit so there must be some sort of individual variance.

Your friends dad should be having a word with the pub landlord about the strength of the beer he’s being served.

They don’t have to be held responsible for an individual choosing to drink drive for prevention to be their responsibility. The police are also tasked with crime prevention but aren’t held responsible for individual crimes.

Exactly, so saying this has anything to do with the pub is laughable. Even if they serve him knowing he is likely to drink and drive, as long as they have implemented general “prevention measures” in their pub, they’ll be fine.

I’ve never driven with even a sip of alcohol in my system and I have definitely had periods of drinking too much.
I don’t understand why people who want 4 pints can’t muster the energy to take a bus or arrange a taxi or a lift. It’s incomprehensible to me.
I’m no angel when it comes to booze but I wouldn’t even move my car an inch on the drive if I’d had a sip (it goes straight to my head too but I can hold that level). It’s not about being caught- even if they don’t kill themselves and other people they could cause other damage and even be unaware. It’s just wrong on every level

@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.

Of course they’d be way over the limit on 4 pints, yes.

As you don’t know where they drink, are you 100% sure that the bar staff know they drive home? It’s a very long time since I’ve done bar work, but when I did, I wouldn’t have been aware of whether regulars were driving home.

Either way, it’s not really the bar staff who are the issue here.

Your friends dad should be having a word with the pub landlord about the strength of the beer he’s being served.

Well that might be the case if it was just one or always the same pub

Is this a serious thread?

2 pints will be very borderline for the majority of drinkers and well over for a lightweight

4 is stupid

When I worked in a bar we occasionally took steps to stop someone clearly inebriated from driving. But it’s impossible to do it all the time. You don’t always know who is driving, you may have started a shift as they’re finishing up so don’t know what they’ve consumed, you could be run off your feet if the bar is busy and don’t have time to monitor these things, etc. the ultimate responsibility is in the hands of the drink driver.

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.

Blood alcohol concentration follows zero-order kinetics. If you know what the concentration of alcohol in their blood is now it is very, very easy to prove what it was one or two hours ago. So even if he's below 80 mg/100 mL when the blood test is performed, the blood test result is still valid evidence of an illegally high blood alcohol concentration at a previous time.

Say he failed the breathalyser test 2 hours ago and hasn't drunk any more alcohol since then. If you measure a blood alcohol concentration of 70 mg/100 mL now you can say with certainty it was between 90 and 100 mg/100 mL when he had the breathalyser, so he was over the limit.