British Survey Reveals Confusion Over Alcohol Content
November 28th, 2007 Posted by: Dr. Cox
A survey conducted in Britain by Direct Line Car Insurance showed that one-third of motorists do not know how many units of alcohol are in an average-strength pint of beer and how it may affect their blood-alcohol level, Reuters reported on Nov. 27.
The survey comprised 2,066 adults. Almost half were ignorant of the potency and effects of a large glass of wine. This confusion over how much alcohol is safe before driving led 40 percent of survey respondents to say that drinking alcohol before driving should be banned altogether.
The confusion stems from alcohol consumption being measured in units, while the drinking/driving limit is measured by alcohol content in the blood. Blood-alcohol content can be affected by an individual’s size, weight and metabolism.
“If an average-size female motorist drinks two large glasses of wine during an evening out, then that is the equivalent of two-thirds of a bottle of wine,” said Tony Chilcott, head of Direct Line Car Insurance. “Whilst she may then feel ‘fine’ and wrongly assume that she has only had two units of alcohol, should she then drive home, she is extremely likely to be over the drink-drive limit.”
Chilcott adds that it is this uncertainty over what constitutes the legal limit that has many motorists wanting to ban drinking before driving.