Drinking and Driving

Especially during carnival, the good party mood can quickly topple: At the latest when the driver’s license is revoked because of drinking and driving. The subsequent car-free period must use the traffic offender to become clear about his drinking habits.

Second chance “MPU”

As a rule, the loss of a driver’s license is associated with a medical-psychological examination, called MPU for short. This is ordered by the court to determine whether the driver is fit to drive. In contrast to the driving test, the medical-psychological examination is not about knowledge in road traffic, but about the character suitability for driving. And this is strongly doubted if you drive a car under the influence of alcohol. Anyone who is stopped by the police with alcohol in their blood at the wheel has driven under the influence of alcohol up to 3,000 times before – at least according to statistics. And anyone who takes part in road traffic with 1.6 per mille blood alcohol has already had an alcohol problem for some time. The vast majority of those who take part in the MPU do so because of drinking and driving. In Germany, this examination is carried out around 100,000 times a year.

Medical and psychological

The MPU, popularly known as the idiot test, consists of a total of three parts. The medical examination and the test of performance and reaction capability are intended to provide information about the physical condition of the traffic offender, while the psychological examination is intended to dispel doubts about the psychological suitability for driving. With the help of a questionnaire, for example, the medical examination looks for both tablet and medication use as well as alcohol consumption habits.

Not idiotic

The entire psychological test contains nearly 500 questions. However, it is usually shortened to about 200 questions. In the process, the examinee has to say very quickly whether a statement applies to him or not. The questions are unordered and go across a variety of topics. For example, some of the questions that have only “yes” or “no” answers might be:

  • My stomach is very sensitive
  • As a child I liked to fight
  • My mother rarely means well with me
  • At parties I am mostly bored
  • The yellow phases at traffic lights are too short
  • Driving a car is very fun
  • I am sometimes very sad
  • I blush quickly
  • I do not lie

You can not do without preparation

How crucial the successful performance at the MPU for the reinstatement of the driver’s license is often underestimated. Experts strongly advise against undergoing the examination unprepared. Approximately 50% of those affected fail the first MPU, and even 20% still require retraining. Only about 30% of all examinees get their driver’s license back after passing the first MPU. There are a number of books and courses on how to prepare for the MPU. According to experts, however, it makes most sense to undergo a traffic psychology consultation. There is a charge for this and it is conducted either in individual sessions or in group discussions. Depending on the complexity of the issue, the cost, which must be paid by the examinee, can range from 500 to 800 euros.

Become abstinent immediately!

Those who want to make credible that they do not have an alcohol problem and should therefore get their driver’s license back, should become abstinent with the moment of losing the driver’s license. This becomes credible and verifiable if the liver values are regularly checked and logged, for example, by the family doctor. The purpose of the time without a driver’s license is to come to terms with one’s alcohol problem and to achieve a sustainable change in behavior. Therefore, the reason for the driving license withdrawal should not be talked down, but dealt with constructively. This is also possible in an outpatient addiction counseling or a supervised self-help group.

How much can you drink before driving?

The question is best not even asked in this form. Anyone who parties with friends and drinks alcohol should hand over the keys and leave the car afterwards. Although a blood alcohol concentration of 0.5 per mille is set as the “danger limit” in road traffic law, driving ability can be impaired even at lower concentrations.Alcohol is broken down in the body mainly by the liver. Because CO2 and fatty acids are produced during this breakdown process, alcohol cannot be “sweated out”: A subsequent sauna session would therefore not only be pointless, but also extremely stressful for the circulation. The body breaks down a very constant 0.15 g of alcohol per kilogram of body weight per hour, and this already with the first sip of alcohol that is consumed. Men and women process alcohol very differently, which is not only due to gender-specific weight differences. Hormonal differences, the absorption of alcohol and ingested food, and other liver enzymes also play a role. The degradation process is not yet fully understood.

No drinking and driving

Guideline values, who may drink how much before the criminally relevant limit is reached, do exist. But since each person reacts quite differently to alcohol depending on the circumstances, these guideline values are completely useless in individual cases. However, the residual alcohol on the next morning should be taken into account in any case. The body needs about as many hours to break down alcohol as it takes to drink a glass. Therefore, you can still lose your driver’s license the morning after. And then probably has not only a huge hangover, but also still great hangover.