Not even on a bicycle you can feel calm if you have drunk too much. The precarious professor of Genoa who, to celebrate the permanent hiring, has toasted a lot, then returning home on a bike convinced to avoid penalties for driving in a state of intoxication, learned it at his own expense. Stopped by the police and found positive for the alcoholtest, he was fined for 1,100 euros and sentenced to 60 days of imprisonment, converted into 130 hours of socially useful works.
The “narrow” on the checks of the traffic police after the entry into force on December 14, 2024 of the reform to the Highway Code (Law n. 177/2024), has all put on those who live, including the managers of bars and restaurants. Now, before the convivial occasions outside the home, one wonders how much you can drink before being sanctioned by the police. “In reality, nothing has changed compared to the past, nor regarding the alcohol bands in the blood that lead to imposing the sanctions, nor the amount of fines” replies Vincenzo Orgini, chief commissioner of the State Police. “The only difference is the media prominence that have had some changes to the highway code on the entire legislation.” Among these, the fact that all the hypotheses of driving under the state of intoxication lead to the reduction of 10 points from the license and the absolute ban on drinking alcohol before putting behind the wheel for the so -called “recurrence drunk”.
“One of the main innovations introduced by the highway reform is the alcoholck” explains Orgini. «It is a device connected to the motorcycle setting of the car that measures the driver’s alcohol content and, in case of positivity, does not allow the start of the engine. It applies to the cars of people already sentenced for driving in a state of intoxication to prevent them from becoming a danger for themselves and for others again ». So do not worry for the classic half glass of wine, or the half mug of beer during the meal. But if to this is added bitter, limoncello and grappa, the solutions remain the same: opt for a taxi, with a shared NCC, or in turn a diner does not drink and brings others to home healthy and without fine.
Put into practice the strategies found on the internet To avoid the absorption of alcohol in the blood, it is not needed. “The amount of wine taken puts more or less time to raise the alcohol based on how difficult the digestion of the food that has just eaten is difficult,” says Luigi Galimberti, psychiatrist, medical toxicologist and president of the Novella Fronda Foundation of Padua. «Alcoholia always reaches the same level whether you drink a liter of wine on an empty stomach and after a Lucullian lunch. The only difference is that with fasting wine the alcohol will reach a given level in a few minutes. After eating chops, ribs and desserts it will get there after an hour ». Needless to devour abundantly seasoned potatoes with oil hoping – according to the vulgate – prevent alcohol absorption, or consume foods rich in protein, fiber and complex carbohydrates. “All metropolitan legends that exhibit the driver who drank to administrative and criminal penalties” concludes Galimberti.
Also measure the level of alcohol with the so -called “portable ethylometer”, which is purchased in the pharmacy, may not be 100 percent safe. “It is a useful appliance because the feedback of an alcohol content higher than the legal threshold of 0.5 grams/liter clearly tells you that you do not have to drive” clarifies Paolo Caraceni, ordinary at the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences of the University of Bologna. «But it is also important to know that the response of alcoholmias lower to the legal limit does not necessarily guarantee that a second measurement, made for example ten minutes away, is not instead above the limit. It is true that at the peak of alcohol in the blood you arrive on average after about an hour from the intake, but there are variables capable of influencing the transformation of alcohol into our body “.
Among these parameters, quantity, type and gradation of the alcoholic drink, sex and age, body weight, existing diseases and taken drugs. «The disposal of the alcohol by the body is a slow procedure. 10 percent are quickly eliminated through breath, skin and kidneys. The remaining 90 is transformed into the liver at a speed that involves a reduction in blood alcohol levels equal to 0.1-0.2 grams/liter every hour. To give an example: an alcoholic unit equal to a glass of 125 cc wine is eliminated in about two to three hours ». Moral: Well the portable ethylometer if you test the right distance from the last intake of wine and then repeat after an hour waiting for the rate to settle permanently under the threshold allowed before driving. Then, it is obvious, drinking responsibly. The best antidote to avoid trouble.
