western Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 only relevant to UK drivers. 35mg in 100ml breath limit unchanged. Scotland has decided to lower the current UK 80 mg to 100ml alc in blood test to Euro 50mg per 100ml. so anyone going North over Xmas, just don't drink & drive http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-30090003 http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/oct/24/scotland-drink-driving-limit-reduced Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Play safe, don't drink and drive full stop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruurd Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 50 milligrams???? Come on! That would be an alcohol weight percentage of 20% - alcohol being lighter than water and blood being heavier??? If you /do/ have that much alcohol in your blood I think your wife has been visiting a taxidermist and that you're dead. :-) :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMB Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I think that you have your calculations a few decimal points out! Blood is approximately 6% denser than water, alcohol about 20% less dense. 100ml of blood weighs about 106g. 50mg per 100ml is less than 0.05% by weight. Have you been trying a practical assessment? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Lol I love this forum Where else would you find a group of people who can have a technical discussion on virtually any subject! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 from the Drinkaware website https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/alcohol-and-the-law/drink-driving ---------- existing UK law ------------ the figures are correct What's the law on drink driving? In the UK, the alcohol limit for drivers is 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100millilitres of blood, 35 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath or 107milligrammes per 100 millilitres of urine. In most other European countries, the limit is less, usually 50 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood (3). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertspark Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Haha it's good to see that there is the technical expertise to varify and calculate absolutely anything.... It simple terms I thought the limit was one of anything (so a pint or glass of wine (90% proof stuff excluded) ) does this mean it's now a half and that's your lot for us simple folk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertspark Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Haha it's good to see that there is the technical expertise to varify and calculate absolutely anything.... It simple terms I thought the limit was one of anything (so a pint or glass of wine (90% proof stuff excluded) ) does this mean it's now a half and that's your lot for us simple folk? Not that I advocate a drink of anything before driving but a zero level would complicate matters to try to work out metabolic rates of alcohol going through your system too and how long you should leave between a drink and driving if that makes sense. A half suits me fine if that's the guidance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 You can't generalise like that, each person has differing speed of alcohol processing, so there is no hard and fast rule. Except of course just not to do it in the first place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertspark Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Now I'm confused Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertspark Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Now I'm confused Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballcock Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Unfortunately it still won't stop those who already flout the existing levels from chancing their luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_pete Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Be careful the morning after..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Haha it's good to see that there is the technical expertise to varify and calculate absolutely anything.... It simple terms I thought the limit was one of anything (so a pint or glass of wine (90% proof stuff excluded) ) does this mean it's now a half and that's your lot for us simple folk? Not that I advocate a drink of anything before driving but a zero level would complicate matters to try to work out metabolic rates of alcohol going through your system too and how long you should leave between a drink and driving if that makes sense. A half suits me fine if that's the guidance The difference that eating (or not) while drinking makes to your absorbtion of alcohol and hence blood alcohol level is considerable so simple rules don't work. I guess the French have the best solution, carry your own breathalizer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailysleaze Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I have found no government website that says what the legal limit means in terms of volume of beer or wine you can drink. As already said, it depends on the person so there's no way they can responsibly tell someone who's 7 stone and hungry they can drink the same as someone who's 20 stone and just had a full english Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 To the best of my knowledge, you can't say '1 pint' because beers and lagers come in different strengths Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_pete Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 It's like trying to publish a single number for how far all land rovers go on a litre of fuel. Different strength beers, depends on how use you are to alcohol, weight, how much you've eaten, gender. Probably be ok with a half but nobody will say that as in some cases that won't be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Anyone know how accurate / reliable the electronic breath alcohol-o-meters you can buy are? I.e. If it says you are OK to drive, can you trust it? I don't wittingly drink & drive - but having some reassurance the morning after that you are safe would be preferable. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMB Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Anyone know how accurate / reliable the electronic breath alcohol-o-meters you can buy are? I.e. If it says you are OK to drive, can you trust it? I don't wittingly drink & drive - but having some reassurance the morning after that you are safe would be preferable. Si I wouldn't trust them, after all the police don't trust the portable version that they carry and it's a lot more sophisticated than anything that you or I might buy. If worried, I'd suggest that you purchase some of the disposable ones that the French require all drivers to carry. They are designed for a lower limit than the UK legal limit so should have a considerable "safety" margin. My former employers used to hand them out to anyone hiring a car and driving abroad, so I have a couple somewhere. Never used one, so don't know how clear the indication is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_pete Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I'd half trust them. Useful indicator but the blood sample at the cop shop has the final say. If they light up like a Christmas tree wait longer before driving. Depending on beer intake you could still be over next day lunchtime but feel totally fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 In the pub last week, was having a very unscientific discussion on if you can make nitro glycerin from laughing gas for some reason, when a chap standing next to us introduced himself as a professor in chemistry and gave us a very interesting half hour lecture! Converting alcohols was one subject, and he touched on how breathalysers work. I forgot the finer points but they don't measure alcohol. They measure the level of something else (forget what!) and compare it with another substance that we also produce naturally- it is the difference between the volume of these two chemicals that is measured. So you can't say the limit is 1/2 beers etc as it will vary dependant on other factors. He mentioned that in fact it is possible to doctor the outcome of a breathalyser test by raising the level of the comparative chemical in your blood stream, though I won't say how Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I wouldn't trust them, after all the police don't trust the portable version that they carry and it's a lot more sophisticated than anything that you or I might buy. ...... It's not that the police don't trust them, it's just that they only have the sophisticated one at the station calibrated isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 In the pub last week, was having a very unscientific discussion on if you can make nitro glycerin from laughing gas for some reason, when a chap standing next to us introduced himself as a professor in chemistry and gave us a very interesting half hour lecture! Converting alcohols was one subject, and he touched on how breathalysers work. I forgot the finer points but they don't measure alcohol. They measure the level of something else (forget what!) and compare it with another substance that we also produce naturally- it is the difference between the volume of these two chemicals that is measured. So you can't say the limit is 1/2 beers etc as it will vary dependant on other factors. He mentioned that in fact it is possible to doctor the outcome of a breathalyser test by raising the level of the comparative chemical in your blood stream, though I won't say how The wikipedia page has a section on the chemistry of how they work, maybe that will fill in the blanks in your recollection? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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