Drink and the driver

Don’t put lives at risk. Don’t drink before driving.

Scotland’s drink drive limit was reduced from 80mg to 50mg in December 2014 and is now the same as many other European countries. The drink drive limit in Scotland is 50mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.

It is very difficult to convert this limit into an accurate estimate of how much you can drink because everyone is different. It depends on factors including the size and strength of the drink, a person’s age, gender and weight. Our livers may also process alcohol at different speeds depending on our age and any damage to them, which we may not be aware of.

Alcohol affects coordination, reaction times, and increases risk taking. Even very small amounts can affect your ability to drive safely.

You can’t judge whether you are over or under the legal limit without a breathalyser or blood test. The safest thing to do is avoid alcohol altogether before driving.

Remember, you could still be over the limit the morning after a night’s drinking. Only time will remove alcohol from your system, not black coffee, a meal or a few hours’ sleep. It takes approximately one hour for our liver to process a unit of alcohol, but this is not necessarily the same for everyone.

For example, if you consumed 20 units of alcohol the previous night, it would be at least 20 hours from when you started drinking before you would be able to drive.

For more detailed information about alcohol and driving, including the laws,
risks and penalties around drink driving, visit the Road Safety Scotland website.

Reporting a drink driver could save lives

If you think someone’s driving after drinking alcohol, you can let the Police know. This could stop someone being seriously injured, or even killed.

Just call the Police on 101. or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. Then you’ll have to give:

• The car registration number
• A description of the vehicle and driver
• The location, i.e. where the driver is at that moment, or is potentially going