It is against the law to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of more than 0.05 per cent in Australia. Alcohol impairs your judgment and is a major cause of crashes. You will be safer not to drink at all before driving. Our police conduct random breath tests and there are heavy penalties if you are caught drink-driving.
If you are planning to drive, you must know how to stay under the 0.05 BAC limit.
- At 0.05 BAC: your risk of being involved in a road crash doubles
- At 0.08 BAC: your risk is more than seven times as high as at zero
- At 0.15 BAC: your relative crash risk is 25 times higher.
Feeling sober is not a safe indicator of being under the 0.05 BAC limit. As soon as you start drinking your BAC begins to rise and reaches its highest concentration almost an hour after you stop drinking. It can take up to two hours before your BAC peaks, especially if you have eaten a substantial meal at the same time.
If you are taking medication, be especially careful when drinking as some medication and drugs combined with alcohol can greatly impair your ability to drive.
Any drink containing about 10 grams of alcohol is one standard drink. To keep inside the 0.05 BAC limit count your drinks.
- For men: No more than two standard drinks in the first hour and one every hour after that.
- For women: No more than one standard drink each hour.
Wine and champagne glasses can be deceptive. Many glasses commonly used in restaurants, hotels and pubs contain more than one standard drink.
Be aware that if you have had a lot of drinks in a night you could still be over the 0.05 BAC limit the next morning. It could be several hours before the alcohol has left your system and you are safe to drive.
For more information on standard drinks click here.
