We've all likely heard the warnings that consuming just one pint could put you over the legal limit but the change probably has you unsure.

We were uncertain of the answers and therefore set out to investigate.

It starts from knowing the alcohol content of drinks.

Alcohol affects each of us differently but everyone loses some level of ability and it gets worse with the more we consume.

Male or Female, weight, metabolism, health, medication, diet, general wellbeing, how much sleep you've had, stress ....... so many things will determine your own alcohol tolerance at any moment in time and your own body's ability to process it.

How long does 1 alcohol unit stay in your body?

'Typically' it takes one hour to process and remove 1 unit of alcohol from the average person therefore it's important that you know how many alcohol units are really in our traditional drinks.

What Blood Alcohol level will you have from 1 alcohol unit?

You can't actually answer this without a device such as a breathalyzer and it also depends on whether you've just consumed the unit in one quick gulp, or over a long lazy afternoon, or even completed the drink a few seconds or hours ago.

You've likely heard the rumour that it takes around 20 minutes for a tequila shot to hit your brain with it's full alcoholic effect - time has different effects on each of us and when the alcohol effect will fully reach your blood as a spike you simply just don't know.

We googled and discovered that there is a formula to estimate Blood Alcohol levels. There are Apps on Google for android which use these and could help track your consumption of alcohol BUT they all have disclaimers about their accuracy and should NOT be used to establish if you really are legally able to drive.

According to the App I tested it suggested that with 1 unit I would peak at 17mg/100ml BUT I state this result as an example and this number could well be wrong.

What about multiple drinks?

Here you'll experience an accumulation effect and I used the Test App with a hypothetical wedding scenario to answer the question of 'should you drive the next morning'?

If I were to consume one pint of 3.6% ABV larger per hour, which is 9 drinks, from 6pm - 2am when would I be sober with a zero reading?

The App suggested:

On the 1st pint I would be 35mg/100ml which is above the 1st licence category

By the 2nd pint I would be OVER the 50mg/100ml driving limit

By the final drink I would be nearly 4 times OVER the legal limit for driving.

IT ALSO SUGGESTED

I would come under the legal limit to drive again until AFTER midday.

I would not be completely sober until AFTER 3pm.

Even though this is hypothetical scenario it casts serious doubts on driving away from a hotel after breakfast.

For fully licenced drivers in Category B:

50 milligrammes (mg) of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood (0.05)

67 milligrammes (mg) of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine or

22 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath

For professional, learner and novice drivers:

20 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood (0.02)

27 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine or

9 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath

This was the final question we posed whereby we all know that it is illegal to drive when over the legal alcohol limit. Therefore the driver has no insurance since you cannot be insured to commit an illegal act.

However, what if you are the passenger who gets into a car knowing that the driver has been drinking?

It could be argued that it this is similar to not putting on your seatbelt and that you are accepting the consequences that follow.

In court it could result in significantly reduced personal insurance, if any, for you as a passenger.

Don't Drink and Drive.

Don't assume you can drive the next morning.

Don't get in a vehicle driven by a Drinker.