Here is a great guide on how you can still enjoy a drink without making it a DUI offence
Most Aussies love a social drink with friends, family or colleagues but, one drink too many and getting behind the wheel can land you in hot water. Sometimes it can be a fine line between being under the alcohol limit and slightly over. Here is a great guide on how you can still enjoy an alcoholic beverage without making it a DUI charge.
Ensure that your drinks equate to one standard drink
This is where so many people come unstuck. Many assume that one beverage, regardless of its size, equals one standard drink however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Knowing your serving sizes can help you to accurately count the number of standard drinks you’ve consumed before driving.
Be mindful of the number of drinks you're having
If you know that you’re driving home or you’ve offered to be the designated driver for others, you can keep on top of your alcohol intake by being mindful of the number of drinks you have.
Pace yourself
Take your time to consume your drinks. Sipping rather sculling is a good way to ensure you have a drink in hand and are having a good time. Another way you can feel like you’re not missing out is by alternating your alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic drinks. Some good ideas include soda and lime, mocktails, or non-alcoholic beer and wines are becoming more readily available and taste similar if not the same to their full alcohol counterparts. Water is another great option, it counteracts the dehydrating nature of alcohol. This can reduce hangovers and headaches from alcohol consumption.
Avoid mixing drinks
Apart from the hangover effects mixing drinks can have, consuming different types of drinks or cocktails can impair your ability to drive safely and you may unknowingly be over the limit. To give you an idea, you may have one cocktail in the first hour, and this can contain different amounts of alcohol in it which can be hard for you to keep track of how much alcohol you’ve had.
Count your drinks
While counting your drinks shouldn’t be depended on solely when determining whether you are capable of driving or not, it can be a useful tool when used in conjunction with the other methods mentioned in this post to ensure you are not driving drunk. For a male, it is 2 standard drinks in the first hour and 1 thereafter, and for women, it is 1 standard drink per hour. It’s important to know that everyone is affected by alcohol differently, and many factors such as age, tolerance, weight etc, can affect how your body breaks down alcohol.
Don't drink on an empty stomach
If you know you are going to have a few drinks, make sure you’ve eaten properly beforehand. Drinking even 2 or 3 drinks consecutively when your stomach is empty, can be dangerous, especially if you decide to get behind the wheel. Drinking on an empty stomach raises your blood alcohol level rapidly. Even if you have paced yourself and had the recommended number of drinks, you may still be over the legal limit regardless.
Stop drinking well before you plan on driving
Instead of drinking right up until you leave, it is best to stop drinking well before you’re about to drive. The longer you wait, the more time your body has to break down the alcohol in your system and the less likely you’ll be over the limit. Take this time to drink some water, have something to eat if you haven’t already and go to the toilet.
Only have one drink at a time
Having more than one drink on the go, aka double parking, is a bad idea. When you have drinks sitting in front of you going warm as you speak, it encourages you to drink the first one faster to drink the second one. Additionally, if you aren’t sitting and you are walking around, having to carry an additional drink that you aren’t drinking can be a hassle and you’ll likely finish your first to drink the second. Try not to make a habit of doing this, and make sure you tell your friends or family that you are driving and not to buy or make you extra drinks.
Reserve your drinking for when you arrive
Pre drinking is fine if you don’t plan on driving later on, but if you do, it’s a sure-fire way to bring your blood alcohol concentration over the limit. If you can, it’s better to wait to have a drink, this way you are not using up your drink limit before you even get there.
Don't participate in drinking games
Drinking games usually either entail drinking a concoction of drinks or a lot of drinks in a short space of time. As you can imagine, playing these for even a brief period can see you over the legal alcohol limit reasonably quickly.
We hope this post has given you some ideas on how to stay under the limit next time you plan on having a drink or two.
Drink driving is considered a serious offence here in Queensland, and if you end up having more drinks than you should while out, always find an alternative way to get home.
If you are looking for an experienced traffic lawyer here in South East Queensland, contact our expert team here at Drink Driver Lawyer.