Myth 1: If I have a blood alcohol level of less than 80 mg/100 ml blood, I can drive safely
The legal limit for driving a car is 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. However, if a police officer determines that your skills are weakened, they can arrest you even if you don’t exceed that limit.
In fact, alcohol can be dangerous even below the legal limit. The SAAQ also estimates that the risk of a fatal accident for a driver with a blood alcohol level of 50 to 80 mg/100 ml is 4.5 times higher than for a sober driver.
Mr Vaillancourt emphasizes that people who drink don’t drive. With the risks of accidents, injuries, deaths, arrests and even criminal charges, the game isn’t worth the candle, he says.
According to the Sûreté du Québec, between 2016 and 2022, on average, 25% of fatal accidents and 15% of fatal accidents involved alcohol.
Myth #2: I don’t need to plan my trips in advance
Don’t have that conversation once the damage is done: You’ll find yourself arguing with someone who doesn’t have the same perception of danger as you do, warns Ms. Desautels.
Some solutions, especially with a designated driver, need to be accepted beforehand. It is also possible to sleep on site, hail a taxi or an Operation Red Nose volunteer, or take public transport.
However, it should be noted that due to the storm, Operation Red Nose services will be suspended in some regions.
Operation Red Nose volunteers assist drivers who have consumed excessive amounts of alcohol. (Archive)
Photo: Radio Canada
Myth 3: I can tell by feel if I’ve had too much to drive
It is actually very difficult to assess your own state of intoxication.
Alcohol will change our judgment and perception of risk, especially if we’ve had a little more, explains Ms. Desautels. That’s why people don’t lie to us when they tell us, “I think I’m okay.” It’s just that they lie to themselves about the effects of alcohol.
In addition, our condition can continue to deteriorate even if we stop drinking for the rest of the evening. A few minutes later our bodies have absorbed the alcohol and then we have more in our blood, recalls Mr Vaillancourt.
Alcohol can take up to 90 minutes to pass through our digestive system.
Myth #4: Last time I drank the same amount of alcohol and I was fine, so I don’t need to worry about it
Not everyone has the same tolerance, but it’s also true that the same person can react differently from day to day.
It can be our level of exhaustion. According to Mr Vaillancourt, medication or drugs mixed with alcohol can also be taken. This is because some common medications like antidepressants and anti-allergenic pills can cause unintended effects when mixed with alcohol, including drowsiness.
You also have to ask yourself: How much do I really know how many drinks I’ve had? Finally, it is not uncommon on a drunken evening for our host to fill our mug with wine while it is being emptied.
Even if you avoid filling your cup before it’s empty, it remains to be seen whether the glass in question really corresponds to a single drink. As Ms. Desautels points out, your guests are advised to count their glasses, but if they count their glasses and count them every time they have taken one and a half, you will have understood that you will not get the same bill at the end of the evening.
On its website, Éduc’alcool presents a tool to calculate what constitutes a standard drink for different types of drinks.
Myth 5: I know a technique for getting drunk
The famous coffee, an ice-cold shower, grandma’s secret recipe or even an industrial quantity of large glasses of water are of no use: you don’t get drunk any faster.
Only time can obviously play with the fact that we will metabolize alcohol, says Ms. Desautels. And for that, what we’ve been drinking has to pass through our digestive system and reach the liver.