Alcohol reduces your ability to drive safely. No-one drives as well as usual after drinking alcohol, even though some people may look and act as though they are unaffected.
Alcohol affects most areas of your brain, so the effects are wide-ranging and impossible to compensate for. Alcohol is a depressant. This means alcohol:
- Slows brain functions so that you can’t respond to situations, make decisions or react quickly.
- Reduces your ability to judge how fast you are moving or your distance from other cars, people or objects.
- Gives you false confidence - you may take greater risks because you think your driving is better than it really is.
- Makes it harder to do more than one thing – while you concentrate on steering, you could miss seeing traffic lights, cars entering from side streets or pedestrians.
- Affects your sense of balance - very important if you ride a motorcycle.
- Makes you sleepy.
Under 0.05 is the legal limit for most drivers because of the well-documented crash risk associated with this blood alcohol concentration (BAC).
Even if your legal limit is 0.05 it is recommended that you don’t drink any alcohol at all if you plan to drive. This is because alcohol affects different people in different ways and it is very difficult to judge your blood alcohol concentration.
Measuring your BAC
- Measuring your BAC is impossible without an Australian Standards Approved Breath Testing Device.
- Estimating your BAC is possible, but difficult and often inaccurate because:
- The alcohol concentration of the drink may vary from 2.5% (e.g. light beer), 5% (e.g. full-strength beer) to over 40% (e.g. vodka, whisky).
- Beer may be served in schooners, middies and schmiddies. Wine glasses may vary in size from 100 to 280 ml.
- In many situations drinks are ‘topped up’, so it's impossible to know how many standard drinks you’ve had.
- Many drinks come in non-standard sizes.
So, don't try to estimate it. Measure it!
For example, many pre-mixed drinks sold in bottles or cans may contain more than one standard drink and 800ml bottles may contain 3 standard drinks.
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Size and weight |
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A smaller person will have an even higher BAC from the same amount of alcohol.
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Liver function |
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An unhealthy liver will process alcohol slower than a healthy liver.
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Gender |
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A woman the same height and weight as a man, drinking the same amount, will have a higher BAC. |
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Recent consumption of food |
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Lack of food in your stomach means you will absorb alcohol into your blood even faster. However, eating food after you have been drinking will not reduce your BAC. |
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Fitness, fatigue and general health condition |
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Your BAC can be higher if you are not feeling well, you are tired, stressed or unfit.
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The only way to know your BAC is to use a breath testing device that meets the requirements of Australian Standard 3547.
Sobering up
The only thing that sobers up a drinker is time. Coffee, a big meal or cold showers will not work.
You may be over the limit for much of the next day if you have had a heavy night of drinking.
So, if you are planning to drink, then plan NOT to drive:
- Plan ahead and arrange alternative transport.
- Share a taxi with friends.
- Catch public transport.
- Stay overnight at a friend’s place.
- Ride with a driver who hasn’t been drinking or taking drugs.
- Arrange for a friend or relative to give you a lift.
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