In thinking that if my sister necks a bottle of wine at 9pm, she's likely to be over the limit at 7am the next morning?

[standanddeliver]

..... and therefore shouldn't be getting in her car and driving to work?

She does this 4 or 5 times a week. At least.

And that's only what I see her drinking. I suspect she drinks more than this sometimes as on occasion she's babysat for me I've got up the next morning to realise she's quietly drunk a third of a bottle of rum/gin/other dusty bottles of spirits left over from Christmas, which she's found at the back of the cupboard.

Would she be over the limit after a bottle of wine the night before?

I keep thinking that if she's driving with alcohol in her bloodstream I really, really need to do something about it.

I think your body processes a unit of alcohol per hour - so assuming she stops drinking at midnight and gets up at 6am, she's "cleared" 6 units from her body.

But as I don't know how many units are in a bottle, that's not much help.

for every unit you drink it takes an hour to get rid from your body so if the wine was drank at 9 by the next morning she should be fine

1 bottle of wine is roughly 7 units so if stopped drinking at 10-11 she would just be clear of alcohol if stopped sooner would be clear

No she wouldn't be over the limit. A bottle of wine has 10 units and if she has finished drinking by 9pm that allows 10 hours, you are meant to get rid of a unit an hour.

To not be over the limit she would only have to actually get rid of 2/3 of the bottle anyway, because the limit would probaby be one large glass.

If however she is drinking any more then she may well be over the limit and at 7am she is unlikely to be on zero.

a bottle of wine is usually 9-11 units depending on the alcohol %

one bottle in the evening and she is probably fine to drive in the morning

However from the rest of your post it seems you suspect she has a drinking problem

Drink any of the following and you probably won’t be safe to drive for about 13 hours from when you finish drinking: four double vodkas; or four pints of strong beer or cider (5%); or a bottle of 15% wine. That’s 1pm the next day if you finish drinking at midnight. This means a standard night out for many young people ending in the early hours can mean they’re still under the influence well into the next afternoon.

thats all i could find on the web - sorry - from here Link{http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/motoring/motortips/300-1451.html\femalefirst}

I might do this once in a while but four or five times a week does sound a bit...

...but I don't think you are being unreasonable to be worried about her drinking. She is going way over the recommended weekly limit. I'm sure there are lots of people on mumsnet with similar dilemmas. Perhaps post in health?

take care

Custardo - I think it is impossible to categorically say one way or another because everyone metabolises alcohol at different rates? Also there is a difference between being on zero (therefore 'safe' to drive) and being under the limit (prob 3 units)

Not sure if I can be any help so ignore if not....I had a tough time a while back and prolly was like your sis. I was miserable and just fell in to the trap of drinking a bottle of wine most nights.
When I found out I was pg I totally stopped and 8 months on I look and feel so much better for it. Even though I am eating properly and more than I should (show me a pg woman that doesn't!) I have lost weight obviously apart from my bump. Friends say I look fantastic.
Waking up not feeling like hell is so much better and my mood and coping mechanisms have improved.

when you're sleeping, the rate your body processes alcohol at drops to about 1/2 a unit per hour, so no, she probably wouldn't be under the legal limit for driving.

Something to remember is that whilst driving over the limit is a strict liability offence, if you are involved in a road traffic accident with ANY alcohol in your blood, you can be prosecuted for dangerous driving / driving under the influence, essentially as a 'drink driver'. I would be very likely to have an accident hungover, which could have far reaching consequences, so I would have a word if one of my sisters was doing this. Couldn't forgive myself if something did happen otherwise.

I'm sorry, but I think your sister has a problem.
If she drinks a full bottle of wine late at night, of course she will be over the limit the following morning. And I'm sure her work colleagues are aware of the smell of drink from her.
I hadn't reached your sister's level, but I was heading there and I managed to stop it before I reached a downward spiral.
I made a decision to quit alcohol completely in February 2006. I have never looked back and I don't regret it one bit. No more headaches, worries about being over the limit the following morning or if one of my children took ill and I needed to get them to a doctor immediately but couldn't because I had just been drinking...
But your sister has to realise she has a problem!

Thanks everyone.

I know my sister has a problem. I told her a few months ago that she needed to address her drinking - she didn't talk to me for three weeks and we haven't discussed it since.

I'm very, very worried about her. She's a teacher and if she had an accident and ended up with a criminal record she probably wouldn't work again. I'm also really worried about her health. She didn't used to drink at all until she got into a relationship with a manipulative, abusive heavy drinker 5 years ago. They've separated now thank god, but she's still using alcohol as a coping mechanism to get her through her day. I don't know what to do to help her.

It is really hard because she needs to admit that she has a problem first.

poor you and your sister. I've heard that alanon is a useful organisation for people in your situation.

There may not be much you can do at the moment, but having such a caring sister can only be a good thing for her in the long term. I'm sure she knows she can turn to you if and when she wants to escape her relationship and tackle her drinking.

agree that a bottle of average 9% wine has 10 units so generally a unit takes an hour to leave the body, so previding she stops drinking by 9pm she will be fit to drive - just by 7am

but sounds that she has a serious drinking problem to me

Difficult to say - depneds on a host of other things like her build/whether she's eating/metabolism etc.

I would say a bottle of wine should be OK next morning though.

Whether it's a good idea to be drinking like that is another issue entirely.

To clear up concern over the next morning driving thing, if she's not sure either and is chancing it, you could always get something like this and then you'd/she'd actually know. Obviously don't know how she'd react if you suggested it though - if she is concerned about her drinking/driving as well it might be worth a go.

Its hard as she deep down knows you are right about the drink which is why she didn't speak to you and never mentions it. I have a friend who is a recovering alky and we all knew he had a problem but 'telling him' made him hide his drinking and become defensive. Changing tactic and being more understanding did help and eventually he confronted the problem.
Could you ask her if she might find some counselling over her relationship useful? If that is the underlying cause of her unhappiness she might readily accept that as more of a solution and the drink dependance might diminish ....