How long after drinking half a can of beer can you drive?
2 Answers
It is best not to drive within 8 hours after drinking half a bottle of beer. To be on the safe side, you can wait more than 10 hours before driving. Below is relevant information about drunk driving: 1. Explanation: In 2011, China officially incorporated drunk driving into criminal law. There are many traffic police officers checking for drunk driving on the roads. If a driver is found to have excessive alcohol content in their blood, all 12 points on their license will be deducted, and the driver will face severe penalties. In serious cases, criminal detention and sentencing may be imposed. China has been increasingly strict in cracking down on drunk driving to fundamentally eliminate this phenomenon. Nowadays, the number of drunk driving cases in China has significantly decreased compared to before. 2. Precautions: If the blood alcohol content exceeds 80 milligrams per milliliter, it indicates severe drunk driving. Not only will the driver's license be revoked, but the driver will also be prohibited from obtaining a new license for 5 years. Generally speaking, the alcohol content in the blood after drinking one bottle of Tsingtao beer will slowly dissipate within a few hours. Since everyone's alcohol tolerance varies, the time it takes to metabolize alcohol differs. Some drivers with better alcohol tolerance may be able to drive 7 hours after drinking one bottle of beer.
As a driver with years of experience, I must say that you really shouldn’t drive after drinking even half a can of beer. Half a can of beer is typically about 150-175 milliliters (a full can is 330 milliliters), containing roughly 7-8 grams of alcohol. Depending on your weight and gender, for someone like me weighing 70 kilograms, drinking just one can might raise the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to over 0.02%, far exceeding the legal limit in China (which is 0.02%). The liver processes alcohol at a rate of only about 10-15 grams per hour, so you’d need to wait at least 45 minutes to an hour after half a can to be barely safe. But that’s just theoretical—in reality, everyone’s metabolism differs. If you drink on an empty stomach, absorption is faster and metabolism slower. A friend of mine tried this: he drank half a can, waited an hour, and still got caught for drunk driving, fined 5,000 RMB and had his license suspended for six months. He deeply regretted it afterward, admitting his reactions were slower and he nearly hit a pedestrian. Now, I don’t touch a single drop before driving—calling a taxi or a designated driver is the only reliable option. Alcohol impairs vision, slows judgment, and doubles the risk of accidents. It’s always better to wait longer than to take the risk.
