A quarter of all car accidents are alcohol related, and 25 per cent of all alcohol-related deaths are due to accidents. In addition, over a third of pedestrians killed in road accidents are over the limit.

In the UK, the legal driving limit is a concentration of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood - about two pints of lager, although this varies according to body size, fitness and how quickly you consumed your drinks. The strength of the drinks you consume also affects your drink driving limit. A unit is a small glass of wine or half a pint of beer.

But studies show that even having just one drink can seriously affect judgment and driving decisions, with people at only half the legal limit experiencing significant impairment in their driving abilities.

In fact, even if you've consumed very little alcohol, your decision-making skills are hampered more than you realise and the results could be deadly.

“In a nutshell, what it means is you don't have to be staggering, fall-down drunk to have driving problems if you've been drinking,” said researcher Dr. Maurice Dennis.

“A very small amount can affect your driving ability and especially the decisions you make while driving. A person may think to himself or herself, 'I've only had a couple of beers so I can drive okay,' but their judgment can be severely affected and they don't even know it.”

Dennis says it doesn't take much alcohol for many people to reach that dangerous level.

For a man weighing just 10st 7lbs, it can be reached in as little as 1-2 beers, or just one beer for a woman weighing in at 8st 5lbs.

“Our tests showed that at one-half the level of legal intoxication, drivers had trouble with such skills as skid control, crash simulation and other manoeuvring tests through stationary cones,” adds Dennis.

The driving tests were conducted during daylight hours, where vision is sharper than night-time driving. “And you have to remember that most people drink and drive at night and fatigue can further hamper driving skills,” he concludes.

Do you have any experience of drink-driving? Have you ever driven drunk, or would you ever consider driving after just a couple of drinks. Share your comments with us using the Comment on this Article box below.

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