What are the UK drink drive limits?

A:

Drink drive limits apply across the whole of the UK, although the limits vary depending on which country you are in.

The limits are based on the amount of alcohol detected in someone’s breath, blood or urine.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the drink-drive alcohol limit is:

35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath; or
80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood; or
107 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine.

In Scotland, the drink-drive alcohol limit is:

22 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath
50 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood
67 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine

The alcohol content in a drink is usually measured in units (scroll down to read more), but it's not possible to work out how many units will put you over the limit because each person's body absorbs alcohol differently.

Drink-driving penalties

Being in charge of a vehicle while above the legal limit or unfit through drink, drivers may get:

3 months’ imprisonment
up to £2,500 fine
a possible driving ban

Driving or attempting to drive while above the legal limit or unfit through drink, drivers may get:

6 months’ imprisonment
an unlimited fine
a driving ban for at least 1 year (3 years if convicted twice in 10 years)

Refusing to provide a specimen of breath, blood or urine for analysis, drivers may get:

6 months’ imprisonment
an unlimited fine
a ban from driving for at least 1 year

Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink, drivers may get:

life imprisonment
an unlimited fine
a ban from driving for at least 5 years
an extended driving test before your licence is returned

How long do the effects of alcohol take to wear off?

On average it takes one hour for a healthy liver to process one unit of alcohol. However, it depends on body mass, gender and how much food you have consumed. Even if you feel fine after drinking heavily in the evening there is still a high possibility that you will be above the legal limit should you drive the following morning.

What constitutes a unit of alcohol?

One unit of alcohol is 10ml (1cl) by volume or 8g by weight, of pure alcohol.

How do I calculate how many units there are in a drink?

A unit of alcohol is measured by the size (ml) and strength (% alcohol by volume or ABV) of the drink.

Drink and units

A 750ml bottle of red, white or rosé wine (ABV 13.5%) contains 10 units.

The following is a guideline from the NHS website:

(If viewing on a smart phone turn to side to view table)

Type of drink	Number of alcohol units
Single small shot of spirits * (25ml, ABV 40%)	1 unit
Alcopop (275ml, ABV 5.5%)	1.5 units
Small glass of red/white/rosé wine (125ml, ABV 12%)	1.5 units
Bottle of lager/beer/cider (330ml, ABV 5%)	1.7 units
Can of lager/beer/cider (440ml, ABV 5.5%)	2 units
Pint of lower-strength lager/beer/cider (ABV 3.6%)	2 units
Standard glass of red/white/rosé wine (175ml, ABV 12%)	2.1 units
Pint of higher-strength lager/beer/cider (ABV 5.2%)	3 units
Large glass of red/white/rosé wine (250ml, ABV 12%)	3 units