Small amounts of alcohol leave your body in your urine, sweat and breath. But your liver breaks down most of the alcohol. A healthy liver breaks down less than one standard drink per hour. Of course, if your liver is damaged it takes even longer.
There is no way you can speed up the rate your body gets rid of alcohol. Black coffee, showers, water or food will not work.
Remember after a big night out you may still be over the zero alcohol limit for much of the next day.
So how long does it take to return to zero? Consider the following scenarios:
Ben
Ben is 19 and holds a P2 licence. He started drinking at 6pm and had 10 schooners of full strength beer (15 standard drinks) over 6 hours. At midnight his BAC was 0.17. He got a cab home.
It took over 11 hours before Ben’s BAC was back to zero. So the day after Ben was not able to drive his friends to the beach for an early morning surf. He had to wait until almost midday before he could drive.
Melita
Melita is 18 and holds a P1 licence. She started drinking at 10pm and had 6 mixer (9 standard) drinks over 4 hours. At 2am her BAC was 0.24. She stayed the night at a friend’s house.
It took over 16 hours before Melita’s BAC was back to zero. So the day after Melita had to get her mum to drive her to work. She had to wait until 6pm that night before she could drive.
If you plan a big drinking night, plan not to drive for most of the next day.
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