Questions and answers

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• How much alcohol can I safely drink and then drive?
  NONE - any amount of alcohol will seriously affect your judgement and control
• How much alcohol can I drink and provide a negative breath test on this machine?
  The legal limit above which you must not drive is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath or 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood
• The amount of alcohol it takes a person to reach these levels is very difficult to determine and will vary between individuals your height, weight, liver size, metabolic rate, gender as well as other factors will all affect the rate at which alcohol will affect a person.There is no safe answer. The only way to guarantee that you will provide a negative breath test is not to drink
• Facts about drink-driving - At twice the current drink-drive limit you are at least 50 times more likely to be involved in a fatal collision. On average 3,000 people a year are killed or seriously injured in drink-drive collisions in the United Kingdom. One in seven deaths on the roads involve drivers who are over the legal limit in the United Kingdom 

In 2008, 200 people were detained for drink driving in Jersey

What is a unit of alcohol?

One unit is normally referred to as a glass of wine or a measure of spirit or a half-pint of normal strength beer.  It is defined as how much alcohol can pass through the average persons body in one hour, this has been calculated to be 8g.

• The main problem with using this method of calculation is knowing exactly how much you have had to drink. The strength of beers and wine varies tremendously; in pubs you get a measure of wine, whereas if you drink at home the glass size can vary.
• This is a very unreliable way of calculating the level of alcohol within your body: Advice is very generalised and everyone's body reacts in different ways, making it impossible to tell how much alcohol is in your system without taking a breath test.
• The only sure way is NOT to drink.

The morning after!

• How long after drinking is it safe to drive?

Many people think that when they get into their car ‘the morning after’ they will be safe to legally drive, but will they?

Take a Saturday night's drinking:

• At midnight you may have 200 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood in your system.
  This is 2½ times the drink drive limit
• At 7.30 a.m. there will still be 90 milligrams per 100 millilitres in your system - you are still over the drink-drive limit 
• By lunchtime you will still have about 20 milligrams within your system, not above the limit but still enough to adversely affect your driving. This is particularly important with society becoming more '24 hour' orientated.
  Because of shift rotas or flexi-time systems many people are at work before 7 a.m. and if they have been drinking on the previous evening they may still be over the limit when driving to work.
  It is impossible to get alcohol out of your system quickly. Coffee and a shower will not speed the process up, it just takes time.

Where and when can I be breath tested?

• If you commit a moving traffic offence. Examples include excess speed, failing to stop for a red light or not wearing a seat belt 
   
• If you are involved in a collision - whether it is your fault or not - you will be required to provide a breath sample. This applies 24 hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year
• Another example includes failing to stop after a collision. The police could trace your vehicle and request a breath sample, even if you had left the vehicle
• If you are attempting to drive a vehicle. This is where you are trying to drive but you do not meet the full legal definition. An example would be trying to start a car
• If you are in charge of a vehicle. This is where the driver is in the vehicle even if it is not moving
  What if I am convicted of drink driving?
• You will have a criminal record
• You will be disqualified from driving for at least a year
• Your next vehicle insurance premium will significantly increase
• You will have difficulty hiring a car for the next 10 years
• Your lifestyle will change dramatically. It will be much worse if you injure or kill someone 
• You may loose your job
• You will have to retake your driving test to regain your licence. (This includes the theory test as well as the practical test)
  

Examples of some penalties

• Causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs:  a fine and/or imprisonment up to a maximum 10-years and disqualified for at least one year.  You would also have to re-sit your driving test.
• Driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs: For a first offence a fine not exceeding £2000 and the loss of your licence for a minimum of 12 months as well as the possibility of imprisonment of up to six months.  For a second offence, a fine not exceeding £2000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months and if the second offence is committed within ten years of the first offence a loss of licence for a period of up to three years.  In both instances, you would have to retake your driving test when your licence was returned to you.
• Refusing to provide a specimen: Where a Police Officer has cause to believe that the driver of a motor vehicle has consumed alcohol or committed a road traffic offence, the Police Officer has the right to request a specimen for analysis. The penalties for refusing to provide a specimen, when connected to one of the above two offences, is identical to whichever of the above offences you are being prosecuted for.

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If you are going to drive – don’t drink!