Drinking, driving, working and the law

Drinking and driving

One-quarter of all road traffic fatalities have blood alcohol levels over the legal limit. This increases to 60 per cent for deaths occurring between 10pm and 4am. The greatest number of such fatalities are in the 20–24 year age group. Random roadside tests by the Department of Transport reveal that 17 per cent of people driving between 10pm and 3am are over the limit.

Legal limit

The law in Britain states that you must not drive, or be in charge of a car, if you are unfit to drive, or have more than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood (80 mg%). This is the same as 0.35 milligram in 1 litre of breath. This level of alcohol in your blood is reached after drinking four to five units of alcohol in one or two hours. Or you could have that level in your bloodstream several hours after your last drink, or even the next day, if you had drunk a lot. But people vary and drinking the same amount of alcohol will give different levels in different people. A higher level is reached if you are small or if you are drinking on an empty stomach.

Providing a specimen

It is also an offence to fail to provide a specimen for analysis while attempting to drive. Conviction for driving over the limit means a fine, a ban from driving for at least a year and higher insurance premiums.

If your blood alcohol level is two and a half times above the legal limit, or if it is a second offence in 10 years, or if you refuse to give a breath or blood sample, then before your licence is returned after the ban you have to pass a medical examination to check that you do not still have a drinking problem. This is called the ‘High Risk Offender Scheme’. What if I’m below the limit?

Driving is impaired well below the legal limit of 80 mg%. Even after two units (one pint of beer or two glasses of wine), giving a blood alcohol level of around 30 mg%, many drivers have slower reactions and make errors at the wheel. Apart from the personal consequences consider the tragedy you can inflict on others.

DVLA

When we apply for a driving licence, or renew a licence, we are required to tell the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) if we have any of a list of medical conditions that could affect driving, such as epilepsy, heart disease, etc. Included in this list is ‘alcohol dependence’ and ‘persistent misuse of alcohol’. It is up to us to tell the DVLA if we develop any of these conditions. It would be rare for a doctor to inform the DVLA directly about a patient and extremely unusual to do so without informing the patient. Alcohol dependence or misuse would most certainly prevent you being given a licence for large goods vehicles or passenger-carrying vehicles until you could show that you were clear of the problem for three years. An ordinary licence might be allowed, if a medical examination with blood tests showed that you had overcome the problem. The DVLA might ask for you to have a medical check-up after another year.

Drinking and work

Comments and warnings

In most work places, it is a breach of discipline to be under the influence of alcohol at work. This would lead to a warning, either verbal or written. If performance was impaired by the hangover effects of drinking, this could lead to comment. Being frequently absent from work might be another cause for a warning. The manager might also notice a pattern, such as frequent Monday absences or(if pay day is Thursday!) frequent Friday absences. Frequent time off for vague complaints – gastritis, flu, ‘nervous tension’, ‘stress’ – is also more common in a worker who is developing a drinking problem.

Workplace policy

Many employers have a policy for staff who may have a drinking problem. The object is to encourage recovery as soon as possible, while protecting the workplace and other employees from danger. They may not want to dismiss a highly trained colleague who, when sober, is a very good worker.

It is usually easier to recover from a drink problem if you are still in work, so it is good that some managers pick up a problem in an employee at an early stage and take steps before dismissal is necessary. Otherwise managers and colleagues may say nothing, hoping the drinker will see the obvious and do something about it. If the problem goes on, praying for a miracle is less effective than saying something direct to the person. It is better not to keep on covering up, doing the job for him or her, or making excuses. The sooner someone brings the problem into the open the better. If there has been a disciplinary issue, the employer may require the employee to seek advice or be examined by the occupational health physician of the company. The employee who chooses to follow this route may be expected to seek outside help and agree to the helping agency (counselling service or clinic) giving a report on progress to the employer. The report would not normally give any personal details, but states whether or not the individual is attending appointments and following advice.

KEY POINTS

• Even below the legal alcohol limit, driving can still be erratic after drinking

• A drink–drive offence means a ban, a fine and higher insurance   

• If an employee’s drinking affects work, it is better to bring it up than to cover it up