U.K. Drinking Costs

[DanaC]

Originally Posted by monster

When I was a lass, they gunned you down before you walked into the bar, just to be on the safe side.

Moss Side?:p

[monster]

hehe my dad used to teach near there. rough doesn't even touch on it.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Then there's the heavyweight factor. An ex cow orker of mine was clocked at .10 and did a weekend in jail. But he reports not being impaired at all. He's a daily alcoholic; he works a second job as a bartender at a rum bar. .10 is like his baseline. It's what he wakes up with.

Doesn't matter if he was impaired or not, it's money maker for the cops.

[DanaC]

@ Monnie: I have a very vague recollection of being stranded in Moss Side one night. Cannot recall the circumstances. I remember standing in the phone box trying to get through to a taxi firm...then trying to persuade them to drive to MS. :P

I also went there a few times in less stressed circumstances, 'cause a mate of mine used to go regularly to see an acquaintance of his. All interesting experiences, of which I am glad, but none of which I would choose to repeat lol.

[Aliantha]

Originally Posted by glatt

Depending on weight, sex, body fat, and how quickly they drink those 1-2 beers, they will fairly easily go over the 0.08 limit by drinking that much alcohol.

According to Wikipedia "However, it is generally accepted that the consumption from sober of one standard drink of alcohol (e.g. 14 grams (17.74 ml) ethanol content by U.S. standard) will increase the average person's BAC roughly 0.02% to 0.05% and would return to 0% about 1.5 to 3 hours later (at a dissipation rate of around 0.015% per hour)."

So one drink is probably OK, but that second drink, depending on a bunch of different variables, might put you into jail. That's where it gets into the gray area. Is a person who has had that second drink an impaired driver? Sometimes I'll feel a little "light headed" after having two drinks. Sometimes, I won't feel at all different after having two drinks. Three drinks, and I'm impaired, without a doubt.

Generally it is acceptable to have one standard drink per hour if you're male and one standard drink about every hour and a half if you're female.

If I were driving I might have 2 drinks if I were going to be there for a few hours, and I wouldn't be having the second if I were getting into the car within an hour, but having said all that, usually I will choose to just not drink if I'm driving. What's the point of taking the risk?

I really don't care what the circumstance is. There's no excuse for drink driving. There are always better options.

[xoxoxoBruce]

No more drinking contests and pubs must serve water.

[Sundae]

It's funny, because all the channels are reporting on the banning of all-you-can-drink offers as if they are rampant in the UK. All-you-can-drink for £10!!! Trust me, outside of some of the university cities you will not see this! Even in Leicester I only ever saw one deal that promised unlimited drink and that was on St Paddy's day, the only drink was Guinness and it was in one of the scuzziest bars I've ever not been into. Trust me, no young'uns would have dared cross that threshold.

Still, it's not banned til April. I'll let you know if we find any such deals in cardiff this weekend.

[DanaC]

I haven't seen All You Can Drink offers. But loads of buy one get one free offers, or half price drinks type thing.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Buy one get one free, or half price drinks, is a standard "happy hour" practice over here.

[Sundae]

Wetherspoons offer very good deals, but they're a low-price, friendly drinking establishment, not a get-pissed-quick hostelry. They're not quite in the BOGOF range though - they're best deals tend to be on food, or food & drink combinations.

I have been in a student-friendly promotion pub in Bradford, but this is going back nearly 20 years now. Every hour? half hour? a klaxon sounded, the lights flashed on and off and a wheel was spun with whatever deal would now be available. Some were very silly, like 10 minutes of 10p a pint or suchlike. It meant the place was always rammed by students getting ready for a night of clubbing (alcohol in clubs was prohibitively expensive then) and there was always a scrum at the bar. Now that I consider irresponsible. Just not at the time.

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by DanaC

I haven't seen All You Can Drink offers. But loads of buy one get one free offers, or half price drinks type thing.

They have a lot of them here in the US, some for as low as $8. You can basically find a bar doing that any night of the week. A hell of a lot cheaper if you like to drink a lot and don't mind cheap alcohol.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

They have a lot of them here in the US, some for as low as $8. You can basically find a bar doing that any night of the week. A hell of a lot cheaper if you like to drink a lot and don't mind cheap alcohol.

This varies states to state. New York has limitations on drink specials.

[SamIam]

Ladies drink free! That was always a big draw for me back in the day. And I drove, too. What was I thinking? But for the grace of God...