Drivers across Ireland are being reminded that even one drink can put you over the legal limit, and a drink drive calculator shows exactly how long alcohol stays in your system.
Pints of Guinness on the bar (file photo)
With the festive season in full swing, gardai are reminding drivers to think twice before getting behind the wheel after a drink this Christmas. Officers will be out in force, with checkpoints and patrols ramped up to match the expected increase in road traffic.
Whether you’re at the pub or enjoying a tipple at home, it’s vital not to drive if you’re over the legal limit – even one pint could keep you off the road for hours.
Experts have also warned that the morning after can be a particularly dangerous time. Drinkaware, the national independent charity working to prevent and reduce alcohol misuse in Ireland, is stressing that time is the only way to sober up – no amount of food, coffee or sleep will speed up the process.
It is encouraging people to make use of its free drink drive calculator to help understand alcohol intake and make informed decisions.
According to Drinkaware, it takes at least one hour to process one standard drink. Examples of a standard drink are half a pint of beer, 100ml glass of wine or a standard measure of spirits.
An average pint of beer equals two standard drinks, so this means it will take your body two hours to process one pint.
Drinkaware says the time starts from when the last drink is finished. For example, if a person finished three pints of beer at midnight, they will have consumed six standard drinks. This means they need six hours from midnight, when they stopped drinking, before their body will have processed the alcohol – so they should not get behind the wheel of a car until 6am at the earliest.
Worried you could be over the limit over the Christmas holidays? Drinkaware’s calculator tells you how long it will take to process the amount of drink you have.
6 pints of lager/stout
If you end up having 6 pints of Guinness, Heineken, Carlsberg or some other lager or stout in and around 4.5%, according to Drinkaware you can’t drive for 12 hours after you finish your last drink. So if you head to bed at midnight, you can’t drive until noon the following day.
1 bottle of wine
If you polish off one bottle of red or white wine you will have to stay off the road for eight hours after you finish, according to Drinkaware.
8 gin and tonics
Drinking eight gin and tonics would mean no driving for 8 hours after your final drink.
5 pints and 5 vodkas with mixers
Some people going for a proper wild night could be drinking pints in the house for the day before going to the pub and switching to vodka. This one could have you feeling particularly bad the next day and that is reflected in how long you have to stay off the road.
According to Drinkaware, you will have to avoid driving for 15 hours after your last drink.
Calculate your own
Some of the examples above involve very harmful levels of drinking. These figures above are estimates. The only way to remove alcohol from your system is time, no amount of food or water will speed up the process, say Drinkaware. If you want to calculate your own, head over to this drinkaware.ie page.
Binge drinking is defined as consuming 60 grams of pure alcohol – six or more standard drinks – in one sitting. This is the equivalent of three pints of cider (568ml), six bottles of lager (330ml) or four glasses of prosecco (150ml).
You can find further information, advice and useful resources on drinkaware.ie.
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