Drink driving is against the law because this can result in serious accidents and in the most severe cases, it can kill.

When drinking alcohol, it can slow down your reactions, distort your speech and affect your judgement of balance and what you see.

Therefore, this makes driving unsafe when under the influence of alcohol and puts you and others at risk.

We have put together some important information all drivers should know about drink driving, answering some key questions including what the legal limit is in the UK and if you can drive the morning after drinking.

What is drink driving?

Section 5 RTA 1988 - Driving or being in charge with alcohol concentration above prescribed limit

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) outlines the drink driving offence and the defence used in court.

The CPS website says: “A person who drives or attempts to drive a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, or is in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath, blood or urine exceeds the prescribed limit is guilty of an offence.

“In relation to being in charge of a motor vehicle, a person is not guilty if he proves that the circumstances were such that there was no likelihood of his driving the vehicle whilst the proportion of alcohol in his breath, blood or urine exceeded the prescribed limit."

Can I drive the morning after drinking?

There could still be high levels of alcohol in your system even if you have been to sleep after drinking which could put you over the legal drink driving limit.

The advice by the charity Drinkaware is to avoid drinking the night before completely if you know you have to drive the next day.

This is because the amount of alcohol in your system depends on a lot of different factors, including how much you drank over a period of time and how fast your body takes to get rid.

Drinkaware adds: “But this varies from person to person. It depends on your size, whether you are male or female, how much food you’ve eaten, the state of your liver, and your metabolism (how quickly or slowly your body turns food into energy).”

How much is the limit for drink driving?

The legal alcohol limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for driving is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

In Scotland the limit is 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or 22 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, reports the Metropolitan Police.

However, the smallest quantities of alcohol can affect your ability to drive, therefore there is no reliable way to drink and stay within ‘the limit’.

On the Drinkaware website, it says: “The advice from the police is clear: avoid alcohol altogether if you plan to drive.”

The charity advises that you should always choose a designated driver such as yourself, a friend or family member who will be alcohol-free for the evening or during the event you are attending.