What are the dangers of drink driving without an alcohol interlock?
Australian police departments have identified that someone with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05% have double the chance of being involved in a traffic crash than a person who’s not been drinking at all. As well as being dangerous to yourself and other drivers, it’s also an offense to drive while your BAC is 0.05 – if you’ve already committed this offense, you might be restricted to only driving vehicles that possess alcohol interlock systems.
Further to this, for some drivers, including: novices, recently disqualified, taxi, bus and large vehicle drivers, your limit is actually zero – so even without a restriction, it might be wise to install an alcohol interlock device. So how do you stay below the 0.05 threshold? Well you could begin by assessing alternative options! Maybe get a ride with someone who isn’t drinking, or appoint a designated driver who’ll lay off the schooners for a night. You could take a taxi, stay overnight, or simply arrange for a pick-up. If none of these options are viable, and you don’t have an alcohol interlock in place, then you’ll have to try incredibly hard to keep that BAC level below 0.05 if that’s your limit. Stick to standard drinks, and consume no more than two in your first hour and restrict yourself to one for every hour that proceeds. For example, a pot of mid-strength beer is 1 standard drink, consuming two of these in your first hour and one for the succeeding hour may help keep your BAC down, as long as you consider time frames. If this is all too much, it may be time to consider an alcohol interlock system.