Don’t do a Ferdinand!
You may not be aware, back in 1997 Rio Ferdinand joined an exclusive group of footballers, but this is one club you want to avoid. In ’97 Ferdinand joined the 18% of drink drivers who get caught unintentionally drink driving the morning after the night before.
His ‘own goal’ got him dropped from the England squad playing Moldova in the same year, meaning he lost out on the chance to become the youngest ever England international at 18 years and 10 months of age.
With the first England group match on Saturday 12th June, we’ve put together this little guide to help you avoid scoring an ‘own goal’. So whether you’re the next 18 year old England International or the star striker in the Dog and Sprocket’s pub team you won’t do a Ferdinand!
So, how easy is it to be over the limit the following morning?
We’ve all thought it, when we’re heading to the car the following morning, “Could I still be over limit?” Here are the facts:
If you have drunk more than 3 pints of beer or 3 large glasses of wine in the evening you could be over the limit the next day.
Studies show that 51% of drivers have unintentionally driven the morning after while still being over the drink drive limit.
If you’ve got a cold or are under the weather the time it takes to process alcohol could almost double, meaning you stay under the influence for longer than usual.
Drinking coffee, sleeping, slapping yourself round the face or taking a cold shower won’t make you sober up any quicker. Neither will hanging around with footie legend Gazza.
Not having a hangover doesn’t mean the alcohol’s left your system
Don’t risk it – getting caught is a minimum 12 month ban!
What can I do to avoid morning after drink driving by accident?
Allow at least 1 hour for every unit of alcohol you drink to pass through your body before you drive but ideally 1.2 hour per unit. Your pub will be able to tell you how many units are in your drink but a main brand pint of beer will have anything between 2 units (Fosters) and 3 units (Stella) .
Calculate the time like this:
Units consumed x 1 hour = hours until I’m clear
So if I drank 4 pints of Stella it would be: 4 pints x 3 units x 1 hour = 12 hours
If I stopped drinking at midnight, I would only just clear the alcohol from my system by 2pm the next day!
What if I lose track of what I had or don’t know how many units I’ve drunk?
Use a pocket sized breathalyzer like AlcoSense (available from alcosense.co.uk or Halfords and Maplin) to tell when you’re OK to drive the next day. Ranging from £24.99 to £59.99 they’ll quickly and accurately tell you when you’re under the limit and can be used again and again. You can use them between your mates too so you’ll always be safe.