Difference between drink driving and driving with a hangover

[imamartian]

I've had this on my concience for many years, but never seen it discussed really....

As i've mentioned before, i don't drink and drive. However, technically i suspect i might because i have been out on many a huge bender and then driven to work the next morning....

The point of this post?... is there a biological/scientific difference between the drunkeness as you come out of the pub to the hungover feeling as you get up in the morning? Both i reckon will fail a breatherliser but is there a technical difference?

 

[Estrella]

I'm not sure I understand the question.

Blood is either in your system or not. The time of day , or elapsed time since your last drink is irelevant surely ?

 

[imamartian]

i agree totally from the legal stance.... but doesn't it feel different... the cab ride home when hammered is ridiculous.. but the hungover drive to work feels almost 'do-able'

 

[Blasphemous]

I'm not sure I understand the question.

Blood is either in your system or not. The time of day , or elapsed time since your last drink is irelevant surely ?

Blood is in your system or you're dead!

 

[Estrella]

Ahhhh, with you now.

Well there are degrees of intoxication. But what the government are saying is that even with a very small amount alcohol in the system your driving ability is compromised.

I also read that after a 'proper session' alcohol could still be present in teh bloodstream for upto 36 hrs afterwards. If that is teh case there has hardly ever been a point in my adult life when there hasnt been alcohol in my bloodstream.

 

[Blasphemous]

i agree totally from the legal stance.... but doesn't it feel different... the cab ride home when hammered is ridiculous.. but the hungover drive to work feels almost 'do-able'

I think they'll let you off then.

 

[Estrella]

Blood is in your system or you're dead!

You see , very topical. If I hadnt consumed a large amount of Jack Daniels this evening I wouldnt have made that mistake. Or would I ?

 

[Blasphemous]

Blood is in your system or you're dead!

You see , very topical. If I hadnt consumed a large amount of Jack Daniels this evening I wouldnt have made that mistake. Or would I ?

Hic, that's what I errr, whats name, thing.

 

[Zampa]

I dont drink and drive..I hate people who do, I dont think the penalties are severe enough either, but the 'morning after' situation is strange

If I got into the car now and drove I know id be over the top..ive had a couple of brandies and a bottle of beer..but how am I fixed for the morning???...or maybe the afternoon..or the evening

I think the sentencing may need to be reviewed in such situations..ok if soeones steaming fair enough..but a couiple of milligrams over the follwing afternoon..does that warrent the same ban etc as someone who knowingly did it.?

 

[Steve]

I once read each unit takes an hour to leave your body after the last drink . . . Work it out.

 

[Estrella]

I did toy with the idea of buying one of those breathalyzer jobbies they sell in petrol stations , just to see what was actually in my system the morning after. I'd imagine the results would be shocking.

 

[wotan]

I'm not sure I understand the question.

Blood is either in your system or not. The time of day , or elapsed time since your last drink is irelevant surely ?

I should hope blood is within your system!
I feel it's the alcohol contained in that blood, that may be the problem.

Wotan

 

[Estrella]

I should hope blood is within your system!
I feel it's the alcohol contained in that blood, that may be the problem.

Wotan

Um, Blasp already said that.

 

[John506]

Get yourselves one of these

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/alcohol-breath-tester/index.html

Whether the morning after feels alot different to when you are hammerd the night before or not, you are still over the limit and your reaction timings are still slowed.

Plus if caught you still may face a drink driving ban, is it really worth it?

 

[2scoops0406]

I once read each unit takes an hour to leave your body after the last drink . . . Work it out.

Not quite, one unit of alcohol is processed per hour for the average person, whatever an average person is. Your weight, sex, and liver function all hugely alter the time taken to process one unit. Also to add into this mix, one unit may take an hour to process, but unfortunately it's not a linear scale, i.e 4 units of alcohol can take longer than 4 hours to process.

In other words, it is very difficult to work out, the best advice is if at all possible don't drink anything if driving straight afterwards.

The bit about being over the limit the next day is a tricky one. How heavy was the session? how long after drinking are you going to be driving? The only way you can tell I suppose is to breathalyse yourself. In the eyes of the law, it is simply how much alcohol is in your breath or your bloodstream. Talk of taking into account the driver didn't know they were still over the limit is fraught with problems. For instance so Mr/Mrs X you last had a drink 12 hours before driving..... so Mr/Mrs X you last had a drink 8 hours before driving..... so Mr/Mrs X you last had a drink 4 hours before driving.


Where would you draw the leniency lines?