While many people still believe the drink drive limit is determined by the amount of alcoholic units you have consumed, this is not the case. It is impossible to say how many drinks the legal drink drive limit equates to, as it is different for each person.

There are lots of factors that make you safe to drive when it comes to alcohol, including your height and weight. What is the drink driving limit in the UK – and are you over it? Take a look at our post below to find out how much you can actually drink and be safe to drive.

What’s the legal limit?

Legal Drink Drive Limits in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

35 Micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath

80 Milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood

107 Milligrammes per 100 millilitres of urine

Legal Drink Drive Limits in Scotland

22 Micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath

50 Milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood

67 Milligrammes per 100 millilitres of urine

What factors affect me getting drunk?

There are also a host of things that can affect you staying under the limit, so it’s worth bearing in mind that these measurements are affected by the following:

• Your gender (Men process alcohol faster than women)

• Your height

• Your age (younger people process alcohol quicker)

• The type of alcohol you’re drinking

• Your current stress levels (if you’re stressed, the alcohol is processed faster)

• Whether you’ve eaten recently (the less you’ve eaten, the quicker the alcohol will affect you)

Alcohol affects your ability to be able to drive for many reasons. For example, when you’re drunk your responses are delayed. Having this impediment when driving is what makes driving a car and drinking so dangerous.

Make sure you’re safe with a Breathalyser kit

Ultimately, it’s safer not to drink at all, or to have a breathalyser test ready in your car so that you can check your levels before putting yourself, or anyone else at risk. There’s a whole range of kits available, and they are not expensive.

Driving the morning after

It’s also important to be wary of driving in the morning after drinking the night before. Many people have been caught drink driving the morning after despite the driver believing they would have been ok to drive. Make sure you check your levels the next morning with your home breathalyser kit and just be sensible when deciding whether you should drive. If you had a lot to drink the night before, the chances are you are not safe to drive the next morning.

Here’s how long it takes for your alcoholic measurements to break down:

• 1 large glass of wine: about 3 hours

• 1 pint of beer: 2 hours

• Strong lager: about 3 hours

Make sure you stay safe with our guide to the drink driving limits in the UK.

Not only is drink driving dangerous, but you could lose your licence, and when you get it back, drink drivers insurance can be expensive. Fortunately, Insurance Revolution treat all drivers fairly, and we can find you a drink drivers insurance policy that is suited to you.