If you own a personal breathalyser you may be aware of the many varying factors that can affect your own reading day to day. You may have also had the opportunity to experiment with family or friends and have noticed how different results can be from different people even when drinking the same amount.
The media suggests 1 pint of beer or a glass of wine is the most you can have before you would be over the limit to drive, and for Scotland the recommendation is now none at all. In reality every individual has their own limit, and this will also vary on different days.
You also need to consider the time it takes for you to process alcohol. It’s very easy to think that if you have had 1 pint of beer you can’t drive. But at what length of time does this count for? I can’t give you the answer because, again, it varies person to person.
The only way you can know what your tolerance is, is with an accurate breathalyser. The England, Wales and Northern Ireland limit it 35µg perl 100ml of breath, and the Scottish limit is 22µg. When you get this reading on your breathalyser THEN YOU are over the limit and would lose your licence if caught for drink driving.
In conclusion counting your units, drinks, checking the clock, are all out dated ways of measuring your alcohol levels. Results on a breathalyser can be surprising when comparing to your old method but bare in mind, the breathalyzer is the most accurate method.
WARNING – The limit in England is high. We may all tolerate alcohol a different rates but there is no doubt that any amount of alcohol increases your impairment to some level. Just because you are within the legal limit does not mean that your driving will not be impaired.
Breathalysers should be used to check you are back to zero the morning after. Don’t put yourself or others at risk otherwise at any level.
