6packofun Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 No drinking at all, period, if you will be driving? No drinking unless you will not be driving for 3-5 hours after the drink? Only one drink (or other number), no real time constraints? Other? Â I'm texting back and forth with our newly 21yo dd who is out with a friend who is very responsible and needs to drive her home. Â I texted her to say, "Hey, make sure D isn't drinking!" because we hadn't really had that conversation before she left. Â So she texts me back and says he already had one, but will only have one, and they're going to be bowling for the next 3-4 hours. Â So then I'm thinking, well, is a hard and fast NO drinking rule really necessary? Â Should I keep in mind that these young adults are trustworthy and it may be safe to drive after several hours--if they know to wait before driving? (I googled, LOL Â Do YOU consider it safe to wait or not take the chance?) Â Just looking for thoughts on this for yourself and your older teens/young adults. Â Thanks! Quote
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) No drinking period.  If we want to paint the town we take the bus. We do most of our drinking at home in general. it's way cheaper and safer.   Edited June 22, 2016 by SparklyUnicorn 7 Quote
amy g. Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 No drinking before driving, in any amount, ever. 5 Quote
Xahm Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 I think having one drink then waiting 3-4 hours before driving is perfectly safe! Even if that drink were stretched out over the 3-4 hours it would be fine, unless the drinker had a medical condition or something. 25 Quote
Guest Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 I'm not much of a drinker, but if I'm having a beer at a restaurant I won't be driving myself home. I've made one exception to that, and it was half a beer two hours before food and driving. Â Everyone has a different tolerance and we always judge our capabilities better than they are - it's human nature. So I'm either getting a cab, sharing a ride, or not drinking any alcohol. Quote
redsquirrel Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 One drink and a couple hours between? I would do that. It's science. A body processes 1 serving of alcohol in an hour. That is 5 oz of wine, or a shot of liquor or... 8oz (?) beer. I don't drink beer so I don't keep track, lol. So a 2 shot drink takes 2 hours to process. Add an extra hour in there and it is fine. There is no need to go all zero tolerance if you can do math.  But honestly, I live in town so its easy for me to walk if we want to go out for a drink. 24 Quote
Joker Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 Dh and I had no problem having a drink with dinner and then driving prior to having kids. Since then we have no drinks period prior to driving. Quote
Melissa in Australia Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 no drinking at all. Â Â Here in Victoria Aus, drivers are still probationary drivers at 21 and there is a zero blood alcohol level restriction on them. 3 Quote
poppy Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 A grown man has a beer, waits 3-4 hours, then drives? That's fine. 16 Quote
MistyMountain Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 I am not a drinker so I do not personally like to drive after a drink but I am personally ok with someone having one drink and then driving 3-4 hours later. They are safe to drive in that circumstance so I do not have a problem with it. 4 Quote
hornblower Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 It's been interesting watching this evolve in our family & social circle. There were many people in a generation ahead of us (our parents, their friends etc) who just plain drove drunk. Then there was the "1-2 glasses of wine with dinner would be ok to drive in 3-4 h".  That was a phase that many people went through. Then there's the zero tolerance set.  <--- me! & everyone I can talk into it.  I've always thought it was stupid to be trying to calculate when you might be 'ok' esp given that clearance rates vary, that people vary in size and in how affected they are by alcohol etc.  I really can't be bothered to drink at all so it's easy for me.  Dh won't drive that same evening. He's usually waiting 12h. Our province has some of the toughest laws.  Roadside suspensions & other penalties kick in at 0.05. If you ask to blow & are over 0.05, larger penalties kick in. If you blow over 0.08 you can have your licence seized & be prohibited from driving for 90 days. Then criminal charges on top of that. What I teach my kids is : don't drive while impaired.  It's not 'drink 1 drink & drive'; it's "don't drink & drive".  And because we're legalizing marijuana, we all need to pay attn to that too. Impaired is impaired. If you're tired, impaired, on prescription meds or anything else, call me, take a cab, or take transit. Op - if I knew my kid was going to be getting into a car with someone who had a drink (of what? how big?) 3-4h ago, I'd be spitting nails & telling them to take a cab instead. Or I'd be driving out there myself. 3 Quote
Arcadia Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 None because I have alcoholics in the family. My FIL only drinks Guinness Stout and if he stop at a can or bottle, he can drive after a few hours. However, it is very likely that he would have much more than a can. My male cousins drink so their wives and sisters do the driving. My ex-colleague was stopped for DUI while here on a business trip. He did have drinks before driving back to his hotel.  When I was in college hostel (not US, drinking age is 18), we had the unofficial policy of designating safe drivers (teetotalers) before going clubbing (pub crawling). There were also designated 24/7 places where we could wait for the "safe drivers" to come and get us back to college. Worse case of not enough safe drivers and we could call our resident fellows and they would come and give us a ride back.   Quote
Prairie~Phlox Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 1 drink & 3-4 hours is fine. I would not be worried at all even after about an hour. 3 Quote
Btervet Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 At this point in my life I'll have a beer and drive after an hour. 3-4 hours absolutely.  At other times in my life, I wouldn't drive after one beer at all.  I've never been willing to drive after any hard liquor or wine, but I also usually consume more than one serving if I am drinking those. Quote
FaithManor Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 We have teens on the house so we role model extreme responsibility. Not so much as a sip and drive. Zero tolerance. In our house, alcohol is for after you intend to stay in at night or maybe at our friend's house dh or I will have a single serving of something.while the other has none and takes possession of the car keys so that hopefully both with talk and action the boys learn to be responsible and make safe decisions. 3 Quote
hornblower Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) One drink and a couple hours between? I would do that. It's science. A body processes 1 serving of alcohol in an hour. That is 5 oz of wine, or a shot of liquor or... 8oz (?) beer. I don't drink beer so I don't keep track, lol. So a 2 shot drink takes 2 hours to process. Add an extra hour in there and it is fine. There is no need to go all zero tolerance if you can do math.  But honestly, I live in town so its easy for me to walk if we want to go out for a drink. I don't believe this is accurate. The rate of BAC going down is pretty much constant because it's an enzyme reaction & not based on body size.   According to Drinkfox, if you're at 0.16, it will take 10 hours to go back down to zero, regardless of your size. But how fast you get to 0.16 and how many drinks it takes, definitely varies on the size of the person. A person my size having 6 drinks in 5 h will hit that. It would take me 10 h to clear.   check out drinkfox - How long to clear http://www.drinkfox.com/information/alcohol-metabolism  what's my BAC http://www.drinkfox.com/tools/bac-calculator Edited June 21, 2016 by hornblower 3 Quote
J-rap Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 For myself, a glass of wine with dinner and then a waiting period and then driving is okay. Â But, I know myself. Â I don't know how others handle it. Â I know someone who can have one glass and not remember what she did! Â 1 Quote
AmandaVT Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 I'm not much of a drinker, but a few times a year, I go to a wine bar with a good friend. We each have 1 glass of wine, munch on some appetizers and chat for a couple of hours. I have no problem driving home after that. I don't leave until after a couple of hours minimum and by that point I'm sure nearly all or all of the alcohol is out of my system.  I did way worse when I was 21 though....glad I've smartened up. 1 Quote
MistyMountain Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 I don't believe this is accurate. The rate of BAC going down is pretty much constant because it's an enzyme reaction & not based on body size.  According to Drinkfox, if you're at 0.16, it will take 10 hours to go back down to zero, regardless of your size. But how fast you get to 0.16 and how many drinks it takes, definitely varies on the size of the person. A person my size having 6 drinks in 5 h will hit that. It would take me 10 h to clear.   check out drinkfox - How long to clear http://www.drinkfox.com/information/alcohol-metabolism  what's my BAC http://www.drinkfox.com/tools/bac-calculator I just used the tool put in 3 hours for 1 drink for both skinny females and average males and the blood alcohol content was 0 which is what is being discussed. 5 Quote
zoobie Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 One beer and not driving for 3-4 hours? It wouldn't cross my mind to worry about that. 17 Quote
Btervet Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) I don't believe this is accurate. The rate of BAC going down is pretty much constant because it's an enzyme reaction & not based on body size.   According to Drinkfox, if you're at 0.16, it will take 10 hours to go back down to zero, regardless of your size. But how fast you get to 0.16 and how many drinks it takes, definitely varies on the size of the person. A person my size having 6 drinks in 5 h will hit that. It would take me 10 h to clear.   check out drinkfox - How long to clear http://www.drinkfox.com/information/alcohol-metabolism  what's my BAC http://www.drinkfox.com/tools/bac-calculator   Interestingly, using these calculators 1 beer would give me a BAC of 0.011, well below the 0.04 needed for DWI. It would also take ~40 mins to clear my system. So one beer and driving seems okay to me. Edited June 21, 2016 by Btervet 4 Quote
Farrar Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 I don't understand what "no drinking then driving ever" which a couple of people posted even means. So, if you've ever had a glass of wine, then no more driving for you? That seems a little extreme. No more driving for the whole night? No more driving for 24 hours? A week? What if you had a glass of wine out at lunch - can you drive after dinner? It's so nebulous that I don't understand how it answers the question. Â I'll do one restaurant glass of wine with dinner with friends and drive a few hours later. Probably at least 2-3. It's why I always order the glass of wine first up and don't refill. It's more fun to go out in the city so I can just take the subway home and not worry if I'm a little tipsy. If I'm out with dh, he's an alcoholic so I'm safe to drink as much as I want (which sounds so inappropriate, but it's true - he can't drink so he always drives). 12 Quote
Xahm Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 I don't understand what "no drinking then driving ever" which a couple of people posted even means. So, if you've ever had a glass of wine, then no more driving for you? That seems a little extreme. No more driving for the whole night? No more driving for 24 hours? A week? What if you had a glass of wine out at lunch - can you drive after dinner? It's so nebulous that I don't understand how it answers the question. Â Â I almost posted the exact same thing. It doesn't make sense to me, but I've mostly heard it said by people who are teetotalers, so I guess that is actually their rule for themselves. 4 Quote
Guest Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 I almost posted the exact same thing. It doesn't make sense to me, but I've mostly heard it said by people who are teetotalers, so I guess that is actually their rule for themselves. I can't speak for anyone else, but we mean that the rest of the evening we aren't operating heavy equipment or vehicles. For lunch time drinking, I'd day I'm probably clear by 6:00. But when I hear that my brain inserts 'until a sleep cycle has passed after an evening drink' as the unspoken bar. Quote
SKL Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 I don't really have a rule. I hardly ever drink and when I do, it's just a few sips and usually not on the same night I drive home. Same for others who regularly drive my kids.  I guess 2 hours since the last drink is reasonable from what I've read. It may depend on the individual drinker though. Quote
Joker Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 When I say no driving after a drink, I mean I wait a sleep cycle. Â I'm not a day drinker though because it makes me sleepier than normal and sleepier much earlier in the day (so I wouldn't want to drive then either). Â We're not teetotalers either as both dh and I are having a drink now, as we do most nights, but we're in for the night. 2 Quote
hornblower Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016  I think the advice here, for keeping blood alcohol level below .05, is one standard drink per hour. People often get in strife because they don't know what one standard drink looks like. It's less than most people think.  yeah, but if I had 5 standard drinks over 5 hours the calculator I posted says I'd be 0.128 and I'd need an additional 8 hours to go back to zero.   Totally agree with you about the size of drinks. And the really sweet mixed drinks which don't taste boozy at all seem easy to over coonsume.   Quote
poppy Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 5 drinks in 5 hours? Call for an uber!!  But to me saying a typical adult male can't have 1 beer, then wait 4 hours, then safely drive-- sounds more like superstition than common sense.  17 Quote
Guest Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 When I say no driving after a drink, I mean I wait a sleep cycle. Â I'm not a day drinker though because it makes me sleepier than normal and sleepier much earlier in the day (so I wouldn't want to drive then either). Â We're not teetotalers either as both dh and I are having a drink now, as we do most nights, but we're in for the night. Ditto, we are more likely to have a drink while watching tv and then go to bed immediately. Restaurant alcohol is overpriced anyway :D Quote
redsquirrel Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 I don't believe this is accurate. The rate of BAC going down is pretty much constant because it's an enzyme reaction & not based on body size.   According to Drinkfox, if you're at 0.16, it will take 10 hours to go back down to zero, regardless of your size. But how fast you get to 0.16 and how many drinks it takes, definitely varies on the size of the person. A person my size having 6 drinks in 5 h will hit that. It would take me 10 h to clear.   check out drinkfox - How long to clear http://www.drinkfox.com/information/alcohol-metabolism  what's my BAC http://www.drinkfox.com/tools/bac-calculator  Using your tool, if I, a small woman, have one drink and wait 3 hours then my BAC is zero. So, it's fine.  If i am drinking 5 alcoholic beverages in 6 hours I am doing so in the comfort of my own home, lol. Or I'm going to be sitting somewhere for about 6 hours, cooling my jets...and nursing my head, lol 2 Quote
TeenagerMom Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 One drink with dinner and I'll drive home. Two drinks and I will drive in an emergency. Three and the hubby is the DD. 2 Quote
hornblower Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 Using your tool, if I, a small woman, have one drink and wait 3 hours then my BAC is zero. So, it's fine.  If i am drinking 5 alcoholic beverages in 6 hours I am doing so in the comfort of my own home, lol. Or I'm going to be sitting somewhere for about 6 hours, cooling my jets...and nursing my head, lol  I see people do this frequently. Arrive, have a Mike's. Then a glass of wine. Then dinner is served, another 2 glasses of wine during the meal. Then a liqueur or another Mike's.  It seems like a lot but when I watch people do it & it seems a lot when I type it out but I see people do this & it's obv their norm, kwim?   1 Quote
Ivey Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 One beer wouldn't worry me at all.  We've asked Ds21 to limit himself to one beer when he's driving. He's a big guy and would be fine after two, but I worry that two quickly becomes three. With Dh, I'm around to nag him about sticking to two. Neither will drive after drinking any liquor, because it's harder to gauge how much you're drinking and to know the effect of each type of liquor. 2 Quote
ocelotmom Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 (edited) I almost posted the exact same thing. It doesn't make sense to me, but I've mostly heard it said by people who are teetotalers, so I guess that is actually their rule for themselves.Same here. Farrar always says what I'm thinking. Â I'm neither a confident driver nor a high tolerance drinker. I'm not going to drive soon after even a single drink. But three or four hours later I would. As others have said, it's math/science. Â If it takes actual calculation to figure it out, I've probably had too much to drive. Â If I drink much more than that, I'm not driving until after I've had a good night's sleep. The concept of getting actually drunk and then staying awake until I'm sober enough to drive is kind of incomprehensible to me. Edited June 22, 2016 by ocelotmom 4 Quote
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 I don't understand what "no drinking then driving ever" which a couple of people posted even means. So, if you've ever had a glass of wine, then no more driving for you? That seems a little extreme. No more driving for the whole night? No more driving for 24 hours? A week? What if you had a glass of wine out at lunch - can you drive after dinner? It's so nebulous that I don't understand how it answers the question.  I'll do one restaurant glass of wine with dinner with friends and drive a few hours later. Probably at least 2-3. It's why I always order the glass of wine first up and don't refill. It's more fun to go out in the city so I can just take the subway home and not worry if I'm a little tipsy. If I'm out with dh, he's an alcoholic so I'm safe to drink as much as I want (which sounds so inappropriate, but it's true - he can't drink so he always drives).  Well if I'm being brutally honest, I want more than one. So I just don't have one if I have to drive. It's my rule for me. Not saying I expect this as a rule for everyone. 1 Quote
bettyandbob Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 1 drink with a meal -- drive in 1.5-2 hours 2 drinks with meal --4 hours  I think this an ok approach for most average adult size people.  I personally am more conservative with myself even though I am large. Everyone's response to alcohol is different and people need to be aware of that. So, most likely I am not driving or having less than one serving and waiting 4 hours. Quote
amy g. Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 I don't have a drink at a restaurant if I'm driving home. I will if my husband is driving. I agree in waiting one sleep cycle between drinking alcohol and driving, but that is just my rule for me. I don't expect anyone else to do the same. Quote
Guest Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 If I am driving in a few hours, I will have one drink with food. I might have two if there are hours and hours of time and the drinks are weak. Oftentimes, I don't drink at all if I'm driving at all. After one time I was pulled over having had one drink at a restaurant. Smelling alcohol induced the officer to give me a sobriety test. I was out of state and had DD in the rented car with me. It scared me enough that I didn't want to repeat that scenario. Quote
medawyn Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 Usually, I am comfortable driving if I have one drink while out. Right now, it's no drinks, but I have a newborn so I haven't had alcohol for 9 months. Â I'm comfortable with my DH driving after 1 cocktail or two beers. Â If the possibility arises that we will be drinking more, we plan for uber or similar. Of course, with a newborn and two toddlers, I'm impressed with myself if I stay up until 9, so I don't usually have time for more than one glass of wine. 1 Quote
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 Although this rarely comes up for me too because I avoid driving at night unless wherever it is I'm going I could drive to blindfolded because driving for me at night is pretty much like driving blindfolded. So it has to be well lit, easy, I've done it zillions of times so I know every turn, tricky spot, etc.  Nice thing here though is there are buses that go to the hot spots. So we take the bus and then don't have to worry about it.   Quote
redsquirrel Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 I see people do this frequently. Arrive, have a Mike's. Then a glass of wine. Then dinner is served, another 2 glasses of wine during the meal. Then a liqueur or another Mike's.  It seems like a lot but when I watch people do it & it seems a lot when I type it out but I see people do this & it's obv their norm, kwim?    Well, I'm not sure what a 'Mikes' is, but that looks like someone is pounding the alcohol. A drink before and then two drinks with dinner and then two drinks after? That is more than a bottle of wine on your own. Unless someone is a very big person, or a hardcore drinker they are going to feel that.  You say you see people do this 'a lot'? Do you own a bar or a restaurant? Where do you see all this drinking before, with and after dinners?  And my standard if driving is one drink before the meal and I am done. That's it. And according to that little tool you posted, it's perfectly safe. 3 Quote
Mama Geek Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 1 beer or 1 glass of wine with dinner and I will drive, if I have a mixed drink instead I will let dh drive because I have and some very poorly measured mixed drinks where after 1 I could barely walk. Â If it is a few 3 or 4 hours I will am willing to drink 2 and still drive. Quote
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016  I don't drive at all, so completely possible I have the guidelines wrong. Really, we're encouraged not to drink and drive at all. Although people ignore that and hope they don't get caught by the 'booze bus'. Penalties are pretty severe if you do get caught though, or if you are in an accident and test over .05.  Uh yeah my husband won't drink at all if he has to drive. But in Germany your @$$ is grass if you register as having had anything to drink. You lose your license usually forever. They do not mess around. So he does not mess around. Quote
nd293 Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 For myself, I don't drink at all before driving. Â Dh will drink within the legal limit. So he balances limited drinks with time before driving with food consumed. If he's driving the kids I ask for zero alcohol. Â I would prefer the kids don't mix alcohol and driving in any way, but I don't see how I can insist on more than the legal limits. We'll do a lot of talking about that in the coming years. Quote
theelfqueen Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 One drink, with food with a good passage of time before driving I'm okay with... More than that I make someone else drive. Â Quote
Seeking Squirrels Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 After 3-4 hours I wouldn't consider that person to still have any alcohol in their system, so that would be fine. If DH and I are out without kids and both have a drink, we walk somewhere nearby and shop or whatever until it's been over an hour since the *one* drink (plus eating with the drink, not on an empty stomach).  Neither of us have had two drinks when out (we can't afford that! haha!) but I assume if one of us had a second the other would not and we would wait the hour and the person on one would drive. If we've had any at home, we stay at home. Quote
Farrar Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 Here, if you register as having had anything at all - even below the limit - or if they ask and you say, "well, I had a glass of wine with dinner a couple hours ago..." then they have the option to throw you in jail for the night. I know a couple of people that this has happened to. Neither were convicted or even accused of DUI, but they had to spend the night in jail, one because he just answered in the affirmative that he'd had a beer earlier in the evening. So I do get a bit nervous about driving even hours after a drink here. But I do it anyway. I mean, I trust myself (and math and science) that one little (by which I mean how much a restaurant gives you!) glass of wine is okay 2-3 or more hours later assuming I ate. Â I see people saying how everyone is different with alcohol... I do always feel that's true. I get tipsy super fast, but then it wears off pretty quickly too if I don't have another glass, which I usually don't. We have a rule against keeping alcohol in the house and drinking out is expensive! Quote
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 Here, if you register as having had anything at all - even below the limit - or if they ask and you say, "well, I had a glass of wine with dinner a couple hours ago..." then they have the option to throw you in jail for the night. I know a couple of people that this has happened to. Neither were convicted or even accused of DUI, but they had to spend the night in jail, one because he just answered in the affirmative that he'd had a beer earlier in the evening. So I do get a bit nervous about driving even hours after a drink here. But I do it anyway. I mean, I trust myself (and math and science) that one little (by which I mean how much a restaurant gives you!) glass of wine is okay 2-3 or more hours later assuming I ate. Â I see people saying how everyone is different with alcohol... I do always feel that's true. I get tipsy super fast, but then it wears off pretty quickly too if I don't have another glass, which I usually don't. We have a rule against keeping alcohol in the house and drinking out is expensive! Â Whoa....I would not enjoy that. Quote
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 22, 2016 Posted June 22, 2016 Although do people really spend 2-3 hours at a restaurant? That's the thing...we don't ever sit there that long. Maybe a place that had shows or something.   3 Quote
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