How soon after drinking can I drive again? Limit calculator as Gardai plan bank holiday operation

Gardai will be out in droves this Bank Holiday weekend with standard checkpoints in place to clamp down on anyone trying to drive after having a few drinks as road deaths increase on Irish roads.

The morning after a heavy night of drinking is a dangerous time for anyone to get behind the wheel of a car.

So if you’re worried you could be over the limit this weekend, Drinkaware have an alcohol calculator that will tell you how long it your body will take to process the amount of drink you had.

READ MORE: Speeding and seatbelt fines to double as over 120 people killed on Irish roads so far in 2022

Of course, everyone is different, and what you eat and drink after will alter the time frame, but this is what the expert estimations recommend.

10 pints of lager/stout

If you have 10 pints of Guinness, Heineken, Carlsberg or some other lager or stout which is around 4.5%.

According to Drink Aware you can not get into the car for 20 hours after you finish your final drink.

So if you retreat to bed at midnight, you can not get back into a car until 8:00 pm the next night.

1 bottle of wine

If you finish off one bottle of red or white wine you will have to stay off the road for eight hours after you finish.

10 vodka and cokes

If you are sticking to vodka and manage to drink 10 in total, that would mean no driving for 10 hours after your last drink.

12 pints and 6 vodkas with mixers

Going for a wild night out by drinking beer in the pub for the day and then heading to a nightclub and switching to vodka.

This will have you feeling particularly dodgey the next day and that is reflected in how long you have to stay out of the driver’s seat.

You will have to avoid driving for 30 hours after your last drink, so basically, just stay away from the car for the weekend.

Calculate your own

If you want to calculate your own, head on over to drinkaware.ie and make sure to stay safe on the roads.

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