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Drink Driving Limits for DUI / DWI

Information on blood / breath alcohol limits for DUI or DWI - Worldwide

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Don't risk drinking and driving!

Drink driving, driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated / driving while impaired (DWI) is a criminal offence in most countries due to the fact that alcohol and drugs can impair the user and make them a danger to other road users' safety when driving.  Consequently, there are legal drink drive limits which motorists must abide by.  The level of breath or blood alcohol which determines the legal limit varies depending on your own country's laws, but we have endeavoured to make a relatively comprehensive list below. (Scroll down to view).

In addition, we have also put some USA specific information for each state, showing the legal drink drive limit, information on open alcoholic drink container laws for both drivers and passengers, information relating the possible suspension of your driving license and forfeiture of your vehicle.

Of course, for anyone who wishes to be able to test themselves for alcohol to determine their blood or breath alcohol level, please visit our alcohol test kits page or our alcohol breathalyzers page.

Our accurate on-site alcohol test kits for saliva, urine or breath) and digital breath alcohol tests are suitable for use in the workplace, by healthcare professionals or for home use.  Many use them to measure against the legal drink drive limit in their country or state. In the UK and USA, this is 80mg/dl or 0.08% BAC (blood alcohol concentration).

It should be understood however, that it can take from 25 to 40 minutes after drinking alcohol for the alcohol to have left your stomach and gone into your blood stream, so you should not assess your safety to drive immediately after drinking. 

Testing for safety to drive the morning after a night's drinking is a very good idea, as more than a quarter of people who lose their driving license for drink driving offences in the UK do so the morning after their drinking.  Visit our drug information page, alcohol tests page or alcohol breathalyzers page for information on how long alcohol takes to leave the body.

Before reading the legal drunk driving levels below, we hope that you appreciate that there is no "safe" level of alcohol if you intend to drive a motor vehicle.  Alcohol affects co-ordination, judgement, reaction times and your ability to reason - including your tendency toward taking risks, so please exercise caution.

It is advised that you allow a minimum of 1 hour per 1 unit of alcohol consumed before driving or operating heavy machinery or electrical equipment in order to ensure that you are not under the influence of alcohol.

This simple formula will help:

Number of units drunk - Number of hours since last drink = Alcohol content

For example: A person drinks 6 pints of an ordinary strength beer (12 units), finishing drinking at 11pm. They start work at 8am the following day. (9 Hours later).

12 Units - 9 hours = 3. In this scenario, the person could still have 3-4 units of alcohol left in their body whilst driving to work the following day - risking both Police prosecution and the safety of others. 3-4 Units will bring most men to the UK or USA legal driving limit of 80mg/dl and 3 units for most women. Please exercise caution.

In the longer term, regular alcohol consumption increases your risks of: liver damage, cancer (of the liver, mouth, throat, and breast), mental health problems, weight gain, heart disease, stroke, shrunken genitals and reduced fertility.  Alcohol reduces your body's ability to absorb nutrition, and the weight gain can also contribute to other conditions such as diabetes.

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      Legal Drink Driving Limits / Drunk Driving Limits / DUI / DWI

    The following list of countries is by no means exhaustive.  This page was published in January 2008.  We will endeavour to keep all information up to date, but this is purely for information purposes only and should not be considered to be legal advice.  As such the legal drink drive / DUI / DWI limits below should only be used at your own risk.

    COUNTRY
    ALCOHOL LIMIT
    % BAC
    ‰ BAC
    MG/L
    Norway
    20mg/dl
    0.02
    0.2
    0.1
    Sweden
    20mg/dl
    0.02
    0.2
    0.1
    Austria
    50mg/dl
    0.05
    0.5
    0.25
    Belgium
    50mg/dl
    0.05
    0.5
    0.25
    Denmark
    50mg/dl
    0.05
    0.5
    0.25
    Finland 
    50mg/dl
    0.05
    0.5
    0.25
    France
    50mg/dl
    0.05
    0.5
    0.25
    Germany
    50mg/dl
    0.05
    0.5
    0.25
    Greece
    50mg/dl
    0.05
    0.5
    0.25
    Netherlands
    50mg/dl
    0.05
    0.5
    0.25
    Portugal 
    50mg/dl
    0.05
    0.5
    0.25
    Spain
    50mg/dl
    0.05
    0.5
    0.25
    Ireland
    80mg/dl
    0.08
    0.8
    0.4
    Italy
    80mg/dl
    0.08
    0.8
    0.4
    Luxembourg
    80mg/dl
    0.08
    0.8
    0.4
    Switzerland
    80mg/dl
    0.08
    0.8
    0.4
    United Kingdom
    80mg/dl
    0.08
    0.8
    0.4
    USA
    80mg/dl
    0.08
    0.8
    0.4
     

    USA Specific information on DUI / DWI

    All 50 states and the District of Columbia have per se laws defining it as a crime to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above 0.08 percent.  This equates to 80 milligrams per decilitre (mg/dl).

    License suspension or revocation traditionally follows conviction for alcohol-impaired driving.  Under a procedure called administrative license suspension, licenses are taken before conviction when a driver fails or refuses to undertake a test for their alcohol level.  Due to the fact that administrative license suspension laws are independent of criminal procedures and are invoked immediately after arrest, they have been found to be more effective than traditional post-conviction sanctions.  Administrative license suspension laws are in place in 50 states and the District of Columbia.

    Some drunk driving offenders in 46 states and the District of Columbia are permitted to drive only if their vehicles have been equipped with ignition interlocks.  These devices analyse a driver's breath and disable the ignition if the driver has been drinking.

    In 32 states, multiple offenders may have to forfeit their vehicles.

    Laws prohibiting the driver, passengers, or both from possessing an open container of alcohol in the passenger compartment of a vehicle are in place in 43 states and the District of Columbia.

    State

    BAC defined as illegal per se Administrative license suspension 1st offence? Restore driving privileges during suspension? Do penalties include interlock/forfeiture? Open container laws
    Alabama 0.08 90 days1 no no/no driver/passenger
    Alaska 0.08 90 days1 after 30 days1,2 yes/yes3 driver
    Arizona 0.08 90 days1 after 30 days1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Arkansas 0.08 120 days1 yes1,2 yes/yes3 no
    California 0.08 4 months1 after 30 days1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Colorado 0.08 3 months1 yes1,2 yes/no driver/passenger
    Connecticut 0.08 90 days1 yes1,2 yes/no no
    Delaware 0.08 3 months1 no yes/no no
    District of Columbia 0.08 2-90 days1 yes1,2 yes/no driver/passenger
    Florida 0.08 6 months1 after 30 days1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Georgia 0.08 1 year1 yes1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Hawaii 0.08 3 months1 after 30 days1,2 no/no driver/passenger
    Idaho 0.08 90 days1 after 30 days1,2 yes/no driver/passenger
    Illinois 0.08 3 months1 after 30 days1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Indiana 0.08 180 days1 after 30 days1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Iowa 0.08 180 days1 after 90 days1,2 yes/no driver/passenger
    Kansas 0.08 30 days1 no yes/no driver
    Kentucky 0.08 no not applicable yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Louisiana 0.08 90 days1 after 30 days1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Maine 0.08 90 days1 yes1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Maryland 0.08 45 days1 yes1,2 yes/no driver/passenger
    Massachusetts 0.08 90 days1 no yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Michigan 0.084 no not applicable yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Minnesota 0.08 90 days1 after 15 days1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Mississippi 0.08 90 days1 no yes/yes3 no
    Missouri 0.08 30 days1 no yes/yes3 no
    Montana 0.08 no not applicable yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Nebraska 0.08 90 days1 after 30 days1,2 yes/no driver/passenger
    Nevada 0.08 90 days1 after 45 days1,2 yes/no driver/passenger
    New Hampshire 0.08 6 months1 no yes/no driver/passenger
    New Jersey 0.08 no not applicable yes/no driver/passenger
    New Mexico 0.08 90 days1 after 30 days1,2 yes/no driver/passenger
    New York 0.08 variable1,5 yes1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    North Carolina 0.08 30 days1 after 10 days1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    North Dakota 0.08 91 days1 after 30 days1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Ohio 0.08 90 days1 after 15 days1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Oklahoma 0.08 180 days1 yes1,2 yes/yes3 driver
    Oregon 0.08 90 days1 after 30 days1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Pennsylvania 0.08 no not applicable yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Rhode Island 0.08 no not applicable yes/yes3 driver
    South Carolina 0.08 no not applicable yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    South Dakota 0.08 no not applicable no/no driver/passenger
    Tennessee 0.08 no not applicable yes/yes3 driver6
    Texas 0.08 90 days1 yes1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Utah 0.08 90 days1 no yes/no driver/passenger
    Vermont 0.08 90 days1 no no/yes3 driver/passenger
    Virginia 0.08 7 days1 no yes/yes3 no
    Washington 0.08 90 days1 after 30 days1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    West Virginia 0.08 6 months1 after 30 days 1,2 yes/no no
    Wisconsin 0.08 6 months1 yes1,2 yes/yes3 driver/passenger
    Wyoming 0.08 90 days1 yes1,2 yes/no driver/passenger

    1Information pertains to drivers in violation of the BAC defined as illegal per se for all drivers, not the special BAC for young drivers.

    2Drivers usually must demonstrate special hardship to justify restoring privileges during suspension, and then privileges often are restricted.

    3A multiple offender's vehicle may be seized and disposed.

    4The 0.08 per se BAC law in Michigan contains a sunset clause which states that the legal BAC will revert to 0.10 on October 1, 2013.

    5In New York, administrative license suspension lasts until prosecution is complete.

    6In Tennessee, municipalities and counties can prohibit passengers from possessing an open container.

     

    Drug driving / driving under the influence of drugs is also an offence in many countries and in many cases causes even more road deaths even though it is not regarded as being the greater danger.

    If you are looking to implement a drugs and alcohol policy in your workplace or to raise awareness through training please visit our drug and alcohol awareness training and policy development page.  Employers looking to screen their drivers may also be interested in our alcohol test kits and Saliva Drug Tests.

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