I'd like to know how you can get done for breaking a limit, in this case blood/alcohol, when you've no way of knowing what your blood/alcohol level is.
It's a bit like driving a car that doesn't have a speedo fitted, then getting done for breaking the speed limit.
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Can I get off future speeding fines by taking out my speedo then?
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I'd like to know how you can get done for breaking a limit, in this case blood/alcohol, when you've no way of knowing what your blood/alcohol level is. It's a bit like driving a car that doesn't have a speedo fitted, then getting done for breaking the speed limit.
The simple answer is to avoid any doubt by not drinking at all. There's plenty of stuff on this site and elsewhere on uptake versus elimination in terms of units of alcohol. If you still feel drunk the following morning you almost certainly are.
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I'd like to know how you can get done for breaking a limit, in this case blood/alcohol, when you've no way of knowing what your blood/alcohol level is. It's a bit like driving a car that doesn't have a speedo fitted, then getting done for breaking the speed limit.
That's a bit silly really isn't it? Of course you know you've got alcohol in your blood if you've been drinking the night before.
Don't know why but I have a figure of eight hours in my head for the time it takes for alcohol to leave your system... so if you stop drinking at 2am, you're not safe to drive to work the next day for 9.
I'm driving 85 year old nan back to Wolverhampton tomorrow and she wants to be there before it gets dark... expecting to see lots of enthusiastic policemen looking for "morning afters" on the way, just like last year.
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>>>Don't know why but I have a figure of eight hours in my head for the time it takes for alcohol to leave your system... so if you stop drinking at 2am, you're not safe to drive to work the next day for 9.<<<
Oh P.G. if it were only true.
FACT it depends on so many factors. I have known 12 hours after turn the crystals green.(Pre electronics).
DVD
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DVD is correct, there are so many variables that you can't possibly be sure you are below the limit. That is my point, you can still be done for something when there is no way of knowing at what point you have broken the law.
To those that say you should have NO alcohol, fine. But when do you reach this point? Again, you can't be sure as you have no realistic way of telling, only the coppers do, by which time it's a bit late.
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from what i can remember it is 1 unit lost for every 1 hour after your last drink, so depends on how many units you drink, there is a website somewere that has all the list of units per drink, i'll try and dig it out,.Halford do a breath tester thingy i remember seeing it at the counter, weather they still do it is another matter
Sam
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I believe that if you've been on the razz the night before, then the liver takes until at least lunchtime the next day to clear most of the alcohol out of the system.
There are lots of variables influencing metabolic clearance of ethanol - so there is no 'safe' amount to drink.
Grim, but true.
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Interesting point urlife 006
CAN you buy a breathalyser for your own use?
If so, where?
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Hawesy,
There are several you can buy for your own use - I wouldn't like to risk my license with any of them.
Matt35.
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Urlife, that is almost right, the average persons liver can get rid of 1 unit every hour, however, this starts as you start, so after 2 hours drinking, your body has already removed 2 units.
Try it out, you're not likely to get drunk if you drink a pint of lager over a 2 hour period!(or 2pints over 4 hours etc.)
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I have one of those home breathalyzers. They are quite good fun but are not very accurate and I never use just that to judge whether I'm fit to drive. Mine only has 3 settings - slightly drunk, drunk, and very drunk. If anything at all shows up, I'll not drive, even if I feel fit to. But if I don't feel fit to and it comes up clear, I still won't.
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You people with breathalisers, try testing this. 'Your body (in good condition) takes half an hour to get rid of each half pint'. Not that I drink very much. My max intake is a pint and a half (beer)and then 2-3 hours, usually 3, before driving.
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Since I don't drink (very boring, I know) I'm probably not qualified to comment, but this is what I can dredge up from memory:
1 unit of alcohol takes 1 hour to be broken down by the liver.
1 pint of lager = 2 units
1 glass of wine = 1 unit
1 shot of spirit = 1 unit (not 100% sure on this one)
Alcopops etc, probably 1 per bottle but possibly more.
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1 pint of lager = 2 units 1 glass of wine = 1 unit 1 shot of spirit = 1 unit (not 100% sure on this one) Alcopops etc, probably 1 per bottle but possibly more.
One shot of spirit @40%abv might be right and will be most consistent, but not sure about new larger measures.
Other figures while widely quoted should be treated with caution. Beer/Lager figures assume 3% abv, so Stella, best bitter etc will give more than two units/pint. Wine calculaltion based on something below 10% abv and a small (<100ml) glass. 250ml glass of Shiraz and your up for a ban there and then. Alcopops? too many varaibles to even guess.
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Many bottles have the unit count on them. I've seen alcho-pops around the 1.6unit mark.
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A website I came across in the past. Not sure how accurate it is.
www.rupissed.com/
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I have a friend who is a very straight and honest bloke. He told me on Christmas Eve he was breathalised and was deemed to be "borderline". He claims the only drink he had during that evening were three cans of red bull.
He does not drink at all during the week as he is a taxi driver.
Is there a condition deemed as borderline??? Could the contents of red bull contribute towards a false reading.
like I say, I would trust this guy with my life, I have never had reason to doubt anything he has told me.
Leon
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Well I didn't realise that Red Bull had any alcohol in it...isn't it caffeine based?
I think your mate was talking a load of Red Bull...
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I have a friend who is a very straight and honest bloke. He told me on Christmas Eve he was breathalised and was deemed to be "borderline". He claims the only drink he had during that evening were three cans of red bull.
Borderline presumably means the equipment registered the presence of alcohol, but below the limit. Don't think it has any consequence beyond it being pointed out that you are sailing close to the wind. As to cause; mouthwash, cold cure? Not red bull which is essentially fizzy pop with added caffeine etc. IIRC there are some medical conditions that can give rise to a low blood alcohol reading. One of the reasons why a zero limit would be impractical .
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the simple formula for working out how many units a given amout of alcohol at a given percentage contains is
(volume of drink in ml x percentage) / 1000
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