To have a drink and drive?

[Drinkinndrive]

About 18 months ago I moved a 10 min drive away from my previous house, it was in a nice little village where there are some social events that I used to attend.
Every month I go to a quiz night in my old village, when I lived there I'd have one or 2 drinks sometimes and walk home but now that I have to drive I rarely have a drink now.
Except maybe once every 3rd month or so I fancy a gin so I have a single gin & tonic always when I first get there and the night ends at least 2 but sometimes 2 1/2 hours later and then I drive home.

If I've ever mentioned having a drink to my DP he has a go at me saying I shouldn't ever touch a drink if im driving and I completely agree as a general rule but I only have 1 (I've looked up the units and as far as I am aware it wouldn't put me over the limit) I always have something to eat too and I've never felt tipsy/drunk after this one drink.

There is no backstory, im not an alcoholic, i rarely drink at all (for context I brought a bottle of gin maybe 6 months ago and it is in my cupboard about a quarter drunk) I never drink while out at a restaurant etc and I don't go on nights out, this one quiz night a month is my night out 🤣

So be honest am I being unreasonable?

I think it’s best avoided, to be honest. Do you really need a drink doing a quiz?

Nope, I think one drink is fine. Anything else your dp doesn't like you doing?

What’s your limit where you are? Mine is 0.05 so what you describe would be fine here, unless you are on a learners or provisional license where it is 0.00 (although there must be a degree of latitude as a sandwich and glass of juice for example would give an ultra low reading but guessing it may be such that while it would be detected via a blood reading, it would not be by a breath test).

She didn’t say she needed one, only that she would like one.

I know you "can", but I don't know why you would. You know one drink makes you feel different, or why would you want it?

I like a drink, but never when I'm driving.

If it's only once a month, why not have 2 and get a Taxi?
Nobody truly knows how their body has metabolized the alcohol. The fact is, if anything happened you'd feel dreadful. That said, by the letter of the law - assuming you have an average body & metabolism, you would probably be legally ok after one drink. You could always buy a breath test kit and check yourself beforehand if you're unsure.

of course it’s fine

In the real world, as opposed to sanctimonious MN, having a single drink and then waiting for two hours before then driving is legal, safe and entirely normal.

A friend's 21 year old son was killed by someone who'd been drinking.

If I need to drive I never have an alcoholic drink. If I'm going to have to drive the next day I'm very careful about how much I drink the evening before. But then I don't really drink much alcohol, I'd rather have a nice cup of tea.

Absolutely fine.

Be prepared to be called a raging alki on here though OP

A single shot of a normal strength spirit will likely be clear of your blood stream after two hours.

I do this, one glass of wine at start of meal out and drive home a few hours later.

A single G&T, 2+ hours before driving is very unlikely to put you anywhere near the limit (in the UK, including here in Scotland where the limit is lower than it is south of the border). It may even not still be measurably above 0 after that time.

Also, given that even "alcohol-free" drinks can contain up to 0.5% alcohol, it could well be that you'll have less alcohol in your system than I do when I have alcohol-free versions of drinks all evening long, and I don't think anyone would say I was irresponsible for drinking "alcohol-free" beer and then driving.

So no, you're not unreasonable.

However, I don't really why you'd bother. Maybe this is 'cos I'm not into gin, but I always think of it as something that people drink for the effects, whereas wine/cider/ale tends to be drunk for the taste (same applies to other clear spirits too).

I’m not a big drinker but really enjoy one glass

My understanding is that your body clears a unit an hour. A single G and T would be 1 unit. Therefore 2 hours later you shouldn't have anything left in your blood. Seems reasonable to me.

That's so lovely of your husband to offer to drop you off and pick you up......

I wouldn’t think twice. You’re not going to be over the limit on a single g&t.

So you "completely agree" with your DP that one shouldn't touch a drink if driving "as a general rule" but it's okay for you if you only have 1? You are contradicting yourself here.

I (fully) agree with your DP - either arrange other transport or stick to soft drinks. it's just not worth the risk.

A single unit, then driving 2 hours later? I would have no issue with this. It's likely to be almost completely out of your system by then.

One unit will easily be out of your system in that time and even if it wasn't, one single is unlikely to put you over the limit.

Really shocked at these vitriolic responses, op even the law, assuming in England, says it’s fine. Personally I’m not a great driver so don’t, but I happy go out with my husband and he will have a glass of wine or a pint of cider with his meal and drive us home, no big deal. It’s fine, morally, legally, in every which way, this is fine, enjoy your quiz night.

That person would have either had a lot more than one small drink two hours ago, or there would have been other factors at play such as using mobile phone or speeding.

After 2 hours the OP would be legally sober so her driving ability not affected by such minimal alcohol consumption.

It's fine.
But you don't agree with your DP as a general rule. If you did you wouldn't have one and drive.

It’s not really unreasonable as it’s within the law.

If I drink, I don’t drive though. I walk, get an uber or get a lift from someone. A relative of ours was killed by a drunk driver and I know if I had an accident, even if I was under the limit, I would always wonder if alcohol played a part. I know I feel different after one drink sometimes.