Drink driving laws around the world that tourists should know

If you’re travelling this holiday season, get to know your destination’s drink driving rules. Some countries have a legal Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit of 0.02, or 0.08, and some destinations might even have a strict zero tolerance rule for all drivers.

Blood Alcohol Content, or BAC is a measure of the concentration of alcohol in a person’s blood. It is the metric most commonly used to determine a person’s level of intoxication, so you’ll find countries stating that the legal drink driving limit is 0.05%BAC or 0.02%BAC.

In some countries, the measure BrAC may be used instead and if you’re using a breathalyzer that reads in BAC, you’ll have to do some conversion.

BAC is expressed in grams of alcohol per 100ml of blood or %BAC, whereas BrAC is usually expressed as mg/l.

To convert BrAC to BAC, breathalysers use the golden ratio of 2100:1 based on the blood concentration that evaporates and is expelled in the lungs.

Or, just check out the tab below on BAC to BrAC conversions for a quick reference on what a certain BrAC level is in %BAC 😉

“I didn’t know!” or “I’m just travelling” will not suffice as an excuse if you get caught drink driving abroad. Tourists can get fined for drink driving and even lose their licenses, so being careful about your BAC level is important if you plan to drink and rent a car while abroad.

We’ve compiled some handy resources on the legal drink driving limits around the world that you can refer to before your next holiday. Click on the tabs below to switch between the infographic table, the full list of all the countries and their recorded drink driving limits, and the BAC to BrAC conversion chart.

Bookmark this page, share it with your travel buddies, and take note of the legal BAC limits around the world so that you don’t get caught in a police cell in a foreign country instead of being out enjoying yourself with your friends and family!

Before you travel, remember that laws are always changing, and these legal BAC limits might have been updated since this post.

Legal limits can also vary depending on age, state, province, etc. and different metrics are used to determine BAC, such as breathalyzer, blood test or urinalysis.

Therefore these legal limits for operation of a vehicle are not exhaustive, and potentially incorrect.

In France, for example, it was enforced in 2012 that drivers of all motor vehicles and motorcycles must carry a breathalyser.

Even if you don’t plan to drink while you’re travelling, checking other rules such as prohibitions on using mobile or GPS devices while driving, seatbelt regulations, seat requirements for children in the car, and even eating or drinking in the car, is important so that you don’t cop a heavy fine while travelling.

For example, Barrington Freight and News.com.au highlighted some peculiar road rules you might find on one of your travels:

• In Cyprus, eating or drinking anything (even water!) while driving is illegal
• On the other hand, in Costa Rica, it is legal to drink and drive, but not to drive drunk
• In Russia, you’ll be fined for driving a dirty car
• In Sweden, it is illegal to drive without headlights, even in daylight
• In Japan, you’ll be fined if you splash a pedestrian with rainwater while passing by
• In Singapore, it’s against the law for a driver to come within 50 metres of a pedestrian
• In Spain, you have to carry an extra set of glasses in your car at all times, even if you’re already wearing a pair!
• In Japan as well, sober passengers in the car with a drunk driver can be punished under the law

If you do plan to drink while abroad, it’s a good idea to bring along your breathalyzer so you can check your BAC, and also ensure that it is calibrated before you go.

Browse our range of personal breathalyzers that would be perfect for travelling thanks to their lightweight and compact size!

No matter where you’re going, remember to be safe and if you plan to drive, don’t drink.