Don’t drink and drive

Is it the year that 'It's coming home?' Well let's make sure we all get home safely too! Whether you are out celebrating England at the Euros, or meeting friends for a BBQ in the sunshine, make sure you are aware of what you are drinking. Mates measures are often different to pub measures, so always know for sure how much you are drinking. The Morning After Calculator can help you judge when might be a safe time to drive the next day. Always drink responsibly.

Don't drink and drive bottle

The Morning After calculator

Remember, it is possible you could still have alcohol in your system the morning after. If you have to go to work, the shops or anything else the next morning, plan ahead and don’t drive.

The Morning After calculator is available online. It helps you calculate roughly when it will be safe for you to drive the morning after drinking alcohol. And it can help you calculate when to stop drinking alcohol if you have to drive the following morning.

The calculator is not intended to help you work out how much you can drink on a night out before driving home. If you are drinking any amount of alcohol on a night out - even one drink - you should leave the car at home and make alternative arrangements. The calculator won’t help you if you are arrested for drink driving.

After drinking when will you be safe to drive?
  • It takes a lot longer than you might think for alcohol to pass through the body.  On average it takes around one hour per unit of alcohol, though this can vary depending on a number of factors such as your weight, whether you’ve eaten and even how tired you are
  • And with so many different drinks and glass sizes, it’s easy to get confused about how many units are in your drink
  • Here are some examples of approximately how long it takes after drinking to be safe to drive
    • Four cans of cider / lager (5%)  - 11 hours
    • Bottle of wine (15%) – 13 hours
    • Four double shots – 13 hours
  • We’re not saying ‘don’t drink’, but we are saying ‘don’t drink anything if you are driving’ and ‘don’t drink heavily if you have to drive the following morning’
The consequences of a drink driving conviction

A drink driving conviction is a criminal conviction which can have serious consequences:

  • A criminal conviction could be seen as gross misconduct by your employer and you could lose your job. Having a criminal record could make it very difficult for you to get another job
  • Colleges and universities will have their own policies about misconduct and getting in trouble with the police could have a knock on effect with your education
  • Lying to your employer on any kind of application which asks you to disclose any criminal convictions could be seen as fraud and lead to a further conviction
  • Your car insurance could go up. Having a criminal record will make it extremely difficult to get any other kind of insurance
  • To get a mortgage you have to disclose any unspent convictions
  • You may not be able to travel to America if you have a criminal conviction. Travelling to a country where you need a visa or a working permit can be very difficult with a criminal record
Stop others from drink driving

You can have your friend’s back by intervening if you think they’re going to drink drive.

Why are we running this campaign? As the Highway Authority, we have a statutory duty to promote and improve road safety by disseminating information or advice relating to the use of roads.