The government has suggested laws on drink and drug-driving could be reviewed amid concern about rising deaths on the roads.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said it “might be time to have a look at those (laws)” as part of a wider effort to improve road safety.
Drink-driving deaths reached a 13-year high in 2022, the latest year for which figures are available, with an estimated 300 people dying in crashes where at least one of the drivers was over the limit.
Here, Yahoo News UK looks at the current laws and punishments.
How long does alcohol stay in your system?
On average, alcohol leaves the body at a rate of one unit an hour. A 4% pint of beer is 2.3 units, as is a 13% 175ml glass of wine.
But people can still be over the drink-drive limit (see next sub-section) the morning after consuming alcohol.
And the Drinkaware charity says: “There’s nothing you can do to speed up the rate alcohol leaves your system. Having a cup of coffee or a cold shower won’t do anything to get rid of the alcohol. You might feel slightly different, but you won’t have eliminated the alcohol in any way.
“The only way to eliminate alcohol from the body is to let time pass.”
The below graphic also shows how long alcohol, regardless of drink-drive limits, can stay in your body.
How many units of alcohol can you drink before driving?
The drink-drive limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.
Nowhere else in Europe has a limit above 50mg per 100ml. The Scottish government reduced its limit to that level in 2014.
It’s impossible to say how many drinks or units these levels equate to. This is because, as the government points out, “it’s different for each person”.
How alcohol affects people depends on factors such as sex, age, weight, metabolism, what they have eaten and stress levels.
The RAC advises: “The best way to stay safe is to not drink and drive at all.”
What is the punishment for drink driving?
Motorists face a minimum disqualification period of 12 months if they are convicted of drink-driving.
The extent of the punishment depends on the magistrates who hear the case, and the nature of the offence.
But as a guideline, the government says driving above the limit could lead to six months’ imprisonment. Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink could lead to life imprisonment.
When was drinking and driving made illegal?
The Road Safety Act 1967 made it an offence to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of over 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood: the limit which remains in place to this day in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In 1979, when official statistics first began, the number of drink-drive deaths per year was 1,640, and had fallen to 200 by 2015.
But with deaths now at a 13-year high, having rose to about 300 in 2022, transport secretary Alexander said a review of the laws is a “priority”.
