Irish drink calculator tells when you can drive again after beer, gin or wine

Irish Daily Mirror

05-05-2025

The May bank holiday is in full swing, with many people across Ireland enjoying a well-earned extra day off work today. But as the celebrations continue, drivers are being reminded of a serious risk - getting behind the wheel the morning after drinking alcohol.
The morning after drinking can be particularly dangerous for drivers, and gardai say this is reflected in the number of early-morning checkpoints they will be conducting. Gardai have been out in force this bank holiday weekend, on the lookout for four "lifesaver offences" - Driving under the influence, speed, non-wearing of seatbelts and mobile phone use.
Drinkaware, the national independent charity working to prevent and reduce alcohol misuse in Ireland, is stressing that time is the only way to sober up. No amount of food, coffee or sleep will speed up the process of alcohol leaving your body.
CEO Dearbhla O'Brien said the shift toward drinking at home - now more common due to rising living costs - can make it harder to monitor intake. She said: "As the cost of living rises, consumer habits are changing and more of us are drinking at home than in pubs and restaurants, and this comes with additional challenges in moderating our drinking. When drinking at home, it becomes easier to over-pour and lose track of how much we're drinking. At home, there's less restraint, and people may not be as aware of the quantity of alcohol they're consuming, leading to overconsumption."
Drinkaware is urging people to be mindful of drink-driving risks. Dearbhla continued: "Just because you've stayed in doesn't mean you're safe to drive the next morning. Alcohol can stay in your system longer than you might think. Drinkaware's online drink-driving calculator can help you assess when it's safe to drive after drinking."
According to Drinkaware, it takes at least one hour to process one standard drink. Examples of a standard drink are half a pint of beer, 100ml glass of wine, or a standard measure of spirits. An average pint of beer equals two standard drinks. This means it will take your body two hours to process one pint of beer.
Drinkaware says the time starts from when the last drink is finished. For example, if a person finished three pints of beer at midnight, they will have consumed six standard drinks. This means they need six hours from midnight when they stopped drinking before their body will have processed the alcohol and they should not get behind the wheel of a car until 6am at the earliest.
Worried you could be over the limit after the May bank holiday weekend? Drinkaware has an alcohol calculator that will tell you how long it will take to process the amount of drink you have.
If you end up having 6 pints of Guinness, Heineken, Carlsberg or some other lager or stout in and around 4.5%, according to Drinkaware you can't drive for 12 hours after you finish your last drink. So if you head to bed at midnight, you can't drive until noon the following day.
If you polish off one bottle of red or white wine you will have to stay off the road for eight hours after you finish, according to Drinkaware.
Drinking eight gin and tonics would mean no driving for 8 hours after your final drink.
Some people going for a proper wild night could be drinking pints in the house for the day before going to the pub and switching to vodka. This one could have you feeling particularly bad the next day and that is reflected in how long you have to stay off the road.
According to Drinkaware, you will have to avoid driving for 15 hours after your last drink.
Some of the examples above involve very harmful levels of drinking. These figures above are estimates. The only way to remove alcohol from your system is time, no amount of food or water will speed up the process, say Drinkaware. If you want to calculate your own, head over to this drinkaware.ie page.
Binge drinking is defined as consuming 60 grams of pure alcohol - six or more standard drinks - in one sitting. This is the equivalent of three pints of cider (568ml), six bottles of lager (330ml) or four glasses of prosecco (150ml).
You can find further information, advice and useful resources on drinkaware.ie.