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Phone: 0808-164-1480

Is Drinking Whilst Driving Illegal in the UK?

In the UK, there are strict laws regarding drink-driving. See below a breakdown of the blood alcohol limits in England, Wales, North Ireland and Scotland as stated by GOV.UK.

Level of alcohol	England, Wales and Northern Ireland	Scotland
Micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath	35	22
Milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood	80	50
Milligrammes per 100 millilitres of urine	107	67

Did you know that there are drink-driving penalties set in place? Take a look at the different charges for different offences here:

Being in charge of a vehicle while over the limit

You may get:

3 months’ imprisonment
up to £2,500 fine
a possible driving ban

Driving or attempting to drive while over the limit

You may get:

6 months’ imprisonment
an unlimited fine
a driving ban for at least 1 year (3 years if convicted twice in 10 years)

Refusing to provide a specimen of breath, blood or urine for analysis

You may get:

6 months’ imprisonment
an unlimited fine
a ban from driving for at least 1 year

Causing death by careless driving while over the limit

You may get:

14 years’ imprisonment
an unlimited fine
a ban from driving for at least 2 years
an extended driving test before your licence is returned

Source: https://www.gov.uk/drink-driving-penalties

Read more about road rules to follow for visitors driving in the UK.