DRINK driving is to blame for far too many deaths and serious injuries on British roads every year.
As Britain's drive drive black spots are revealed, here's all the information you need about UK laws and the first ever roadside breath test in the UK...
What is the drink-driving limit in the UK?
The drink drive limit differs in the UK depending on if you are in England, Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland.
Government guidelines state that the limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, 35 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath or 107 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of urine.
A 'drink' is either one shot of liquor, a five-ounce glass of wine or one beer, all of which contain the same amount of alcohol. At a.08 BAC level, drivers are so impaired that they are 11 times more likely to have a single-vehicle crash than drivers with no alcohol in their system.
In Scotland the limits are 50 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, 22 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath or 67 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of urine.
With just 10mg per 100ml of blood you are 37 per cent more likely to be involved in a fatal road accident than when sober.
What can affect the drink-drive limit?
There are several factors that can impact upon how much alcohol is absorbed into your blood, which can tip you over the limit.
These levels can be dependent on:
your weight, age, sex and metabolism (the rate your body uses energy)
the type and amount of alcohol you're drinking
what you've eaten recently
your stress levels at the time
How can alcohol affect driving?
Your ability to drive safely with alcohol in your system is impaired as:
The brain takes longer to receive messages from the eye
Processing information becomes more difficult
Instructions to the body's muscles are delayed resulting in slower reaction times
Blurred and double vision may be experienced which affects your ability to see things clearly while driving
You are more likely to take potentially dangerous risks because you can act on urges you normally repress
What is the penalty for drink-driving?
Those driving the next day while still over the limit are risking a jail term of 14 years for causing death by careless driving when under the influence.
Just being caught over the limit can land you a driving ban, a £2,500 fine and even a short prison term.
The actual penalty you get is up to the magistrates who hear your case, and depends on your offence.
Here are a few examples of the penalties handed out to drink-drivers:
Being in charge of a vehicle while above the legal limit or unfit through drink can lead to three months imprisonment, up to £25,000 fine and a possible driving ban
Driving or attempting to drive while above the legal limit or unfit through drink can lead to six months imprisonment, an unlimited fine and a driving ban for at least one year (three years if you have been convicted twice in 10 years)
Refusing to provide a specimen of breath, blood or urine for analysis can lead to six months imprisonment, an unlimited fine and driving ban for at least one year
Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink can lead to 14 years imprisonment, an unlimited fine, a band from driving for at least two years and an extended driving test before your licence is returned
Other problems include:
An increase in the cost of car insurance
If you drive for work, your employer will see your conviction on your licence
How many units of alcohol can you have before driving?
The legal drink drive limit cannot be safely converted into a certain number of units, as it depends on a number of factors such as gender, body mass and how quickly your body absorbs alcohol.
As a rule of thumb, two pints of regular-strength lager or two small glasses of wine would put you over the limit.
It takes around two hours for a pint to leave your system although stronger beers and ciders will take longer.
A large glass of wine (250ml) is still in the blood for four hours and a single measure of a spirit takes just one hour.
Plus you’ll need to add on an hour for the alcohol to be absorbed into the system. So, if you have four pints and stop drinking at midnight, you’re not safe to drive until at least 9am – a bottle of wine and you have to wait until 1pm the next day.
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But this isn’t a catch-all rule. As mentioned previously, factors like your weight, sex, metabolism and how much you’ve eaten all contribute to how your body processes alcohol, so everyone has different limits.
The easiest way to avoid being caught out and to ensure you’re safe behind the wheel is not to drink at all if you’re planning on driving and give yourself plenty of time the next day before setting off.
When was the first roadside breath test carried out?
The first roadside breath test was carried out 50 years ago, on October 8, 1967.
In the year the breathalyser was introduced there were 1,640 people killed in crashes attributed to alcohol, but publicans protested to then-Transport Minister Barbara Castle that the new law could put them out of business.
AA president Edmund King said: 'The breathalyser sits alongside compulsory seat belts and the introduction of EuroNCAP crash testing as the three biggest road safety life-saving measures introduced in the last half century.
'The breathalyser and subsequent campaigns saved thousands of lives and helped make drink driving socially unacceptable.'
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Which celebrities have been caught drink driving?
Troubled telly star Ant McPartlin was slapped with the UK's biggest ever drink-driving fine after injuring a four-year-old girl by smashing into her parents' car in Richmond, London.
He was stung for £86,000 after pleading guilty to being twice the drink-driving limit at Wimbledon Magistrates Court.
Ex-England captain Wayne Rooney was arrested after he was suspected of drink driving - he later pleaded guilty to the offence.
Sky Sports presenter Kirsty Gallacher was banned from driving on September 4, 2017, for two years after admitting driving a vehicle while above the legal limit.
Liverpool ace Roberto Firmino was also banned from driving for 12 months in February, 2017, after being caught on the wrong side of the road and over the legal alcohol limit.
How are fines for drink driving calculated in the UK?
How many drinks can I have and still be allowed to drive? – Karen, Toronto.
Canada's low risk alcohol guidelines say people shouldn't drink and drive, period.
'It's difficult to give guidance that people will read in an article and then get pulled over and say: 'The Globe and Mail [newspaper] told me I could have X-many drinks,' says OPP Chief Superintendent Don Bell, with the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police traffic committee. 'It's kind of funny, in Ontario, youth can't drive if they've been drinking anything up to age 21 – so why, at over 21, is it suddenly okay to drink and drive? Why not just keep the same mindset?'
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The Criminal Code of Canada defines impaired driving as blood alcohol content (BAC) at or above .08, which is 80 milligrams of alcohol for every 100 ml of blood. But, every province except Quebec has administrative laws that allow police to suspend your licence on the spot if your BAC is over .05 (.04 in Saskatchewan and .06 in the Yukon)
'If you consume alcohol in a responsible way and consume two standard drinks if you're a man, one if you're a woman and nothing over that, you'll never be over the .05 per cent limit,' says Andrew Murie, chief executive officer, MADD Canada. 'There's no scientific evidence supporting .08 – it's just way too high. Most countries that base these things on science and not politics have moved way lower. At .08, it would take a 200-pound guy seven straight drinks in two hours, on an empty stomach, to blow a criminal level.'
Most provinces forbid young drivers to consume any alcohol and be behind the wheel.
'Young drivers are bad enough drivers as it is, you add alcohol and it's horrific,' Murie says.
How many drinks it will take to get to a specific BAC depends on gender (fewer drinks for women), height, weight and whether your liver's working properly. The bigger you are, the more blood you have and the more drinks it will take.
Provincial governments used to distribute charts that show what BAC is, depending on weight and gender, after a number of drinks over time. They still exist online and in apps.
'Essentially, these things were eliminated a number of years ago because the charts may not be accurate for all races – the enzyme in the liver that eliminates alcohol works at different rates – and the charts were only accurate for Caucasians,' says Raynald Marchand, general manager of programs with the Canada Safety Council.
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Marchand says he and his wife take turns driving and letting the other have a glass of wine with dinner – but he says people should understand how drinks affect them.
'We're not a nation of teetotallers – if you drink responsibly and allow enough time, then your blood alcohol content will be minimal,' he says. 'The Criminal Code is not intended so people can't go out for dinner and enjoy a glass of wine. But it got a little complex and all the groups out there and the government and so on will say that there's no safe level of alcohol.'
If you have that beer at the start of the meal and linger for an hour and a half, you probably won't register any alcohol at all, Marchand says.
'But if you have that glass of wine with dessert, you should wait – that's not enough time to process it.'
And, coffee, food or a brisk walk won't make the alcohol go through your system any faster – it simply takes time.
Marchand says most impaired drivers in crashes are well over the .08 limit.
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'The number of collisions under .05 is pretty minimal and might have happened anyway,' he says. 'But a big problem is sober drivers hitting pedestrians who have been drinking – you really need to watch out if you're anywhere near bars or restaurants.'
MADD Canada's Murie would like to see labelling on bottles, cans and menus that states how many standard drinks a beverage contains.
'I'm not talking about warning labels, but labels that say 'This beer has x number of standard drinks,' so people can follow the guidelines, enjoy alcohol responsibly and not cause death and carnage in the road,' Murie says. 'Anytime an individual has to become their own liquor control board, there's a problem — people need to be educated.'
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What's on tap
You can easily go over the limit if that drink or two is bigger than you realize. A standard drink serving contains 13.5 grams of alcohol and might be smaller than most of us think:
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12 ounces (341 ml) of beer, cider or cooler with 5 per cent alcohol.
5 ounces (140 ml) of wine with 12 per cent alcohol.
1.5 ounces (43 ml) of distilled alcohol (such vodka, gin or rye) with 40 per cent alcohol.
If you have questions about driving or car maintenance, please contact our experts at [email protected].