Ireland

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Calculator 🇮🇪

Calculate your estimated Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) instantly. Track standard drinks, view sobriety charts, and check your status against the 50mg (0.05%) Irish legal limit.

0.5 ‰ Legal limit

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ℹ️ Information

CONTEXT
🌎 Country
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ABOUT YOU
Sex
⚖️ Weight

lbs

⏱️ Start time of drinking (optional) Time of your first drink (not required)

🕒

⏳ Or: hours ago —
0h6h12h18h24h

🍹🍸🍺 Drinks

Drink {{index+1}} 🍷

%

Maximum number of drinks reached.

The results will show up here...
📈 Results
Current BACPeak BAC {{ initialSobriety }}{{ unitSign }} Legal limit {{ countryLimit }}{{ unitSign }}
Safe Caution Impaired Intoxicated Dangerous
Above the legal limit – do not drive. Close to the legal limit – driving not recommended. Safe to drive, but stay cautious.
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Sober in: {{ sobrietyTime }}

Drink Driving in Ireland

Experienced drivers 50mg/100ml
Learner & professional drivers 20mg/100ml

Penalties for Drink Driving in Ireland

Offence type No offence Below the legal limit – driving is permitted.
Offence type Over the 0.0 limit Zero-tolerance country — driving with any detectable alcohol is prohibited.
Offence type penalty_stage_1_offense 50–99 mg/100 ml (fixed-charge band) Administrative offence — fine and licence points possible.
Typical penalties
  • Fixed-charge penalty €200 (50–80 mg) or €400 (80–100 mg)
  • Automatic 3-month disqualification (50–80 mg) or 6 months (80–100 mg)
  • No court appearance if accepted
Offence type penalty_stage_2_offense 100+ mg/100 ml (court conviction) Criminal offence — may result in a criminal record.
Typical penalties
  • Court fine up to €5,000 and/or 6 months imprisonment
  • 2-year disqualification (100–150 mg) or 3-year (150+ mg) on first offence
  • Vehicle seizure standard during proceedings
These are general penalties. Actual consequences may vary by local law and circumstances. Learn more →

Legal limit

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Based on Irish law ·

Elimination rate

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Assumed average

Standard Drinks

{{ standardDrinks }}🍺
Approx. consumed

Pure Alcohol

{{ results.length > 0 ? results[0].pureAlcoholMl : '0' }} {{ qunits }}
Pure alcohol consumed

Pure Alcohol (g)

{{ alcoholGrams }} g
Total ethanol consumed

Calories

{{ calories }} kcal
From alcohol only — mixers add more

Time over limit

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Estimated duration above the legal driving limit
For your own safety, we recommend using a rate no higher than the average.
Current BACPeak BAC {{ initialSobriety }}{{ unitSign }} Legal limit {{ countryLimit }}{{ unitSign }}
Safe Caution Impaired Intoxicated Dangerous
Above the legal limit – do not drive. Close to the legal limit – driving not recommended. Safe to drive, but stay cautious.
{{ legalLimitTimeLabel }}
Sober in: {{ sobrietyTime }}

Drink Driving in Ireland

Experienced drivers 50mg/100ml
Learner & professional drivers 20mg/100ml

Penalties for Drink Driving in Ireland

Offence type No offence Below the legal limit – driving is permitted.
Offence type Over the 0.0 limit Zero-tolerance country — driving with any detectable alcohol is prohibited.
Offence type penalty_stage_1_offense 50–99 mg/100 ml (fixed-charge band) Administrative offence — fine and licence points possible.
Typical penalties
  • Fixed-charge penalty €200 (50–80 mg) or €400 (80–100 mg)
  • Automatic 3-month disqualification (50–80 mg) or 6 months (80–100 mg)
  • No court appearance if accepted
Offence type penalty_stage_2_offense 100+ mg/100 ml (court conviction) Criminal offence — may result in a criminal record.
Typical penalties
  • Court fine up to €5,000 and/or 6 months imprisonment
  • 2-year disqualification (100–150 mg) or 3-year (150+ mg) on first offence
  • Vehicle seizure standard during proceedings
These are general penalties. Actual consequences may vary by local law and circumstances. Learn more →
{{ afterLabel }} {{ $t('unit.' + units) }} Status
{{ result.time }} {{ result.drunkenness }}
  • Safe to drive, but stay cautious.
  • Close to the legal limit – driving not recommended.
  • Above the legal limit – do not drive.
Create a pop-up notification
📉 Sobriety Over Time
👮 Health impact and legal consequences
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Peak BAC: {{ peakBAC }}

💡 Tips: drink water, eat, and avoid driving until below the legal limit and ideally sober.

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Attention‼️ The results are only approximate, so make sure you are sober before driving.

About results
Current BAC

Your Current BAC shows your estimated blood alcohol concentration right now as a percentage. This number reflects how much alcohol is in your bloodstream.

Legal limit

In Ireland, the standard legal driving limit is 0.05% BAC (50mg per 100ml of blood). For learners and professional drivers, the limit is 0.02% BAC. Exceeding this results in mandatory disqualification.

Elimination rate

This shows the assumed average rate your body metabolizes alcohol — typically ~0.015 % BAC per hour.

Standard Drinks

The number of Standard Drinks represents the approximate number of typical servings you’ve consumed. In Ireland, a standard drink contains 10 grams of alcohol.

Pure Alcohol

Total alcohol absorbed so far.

Time vs. Sobriety Table

The table lists how your BAC is expected to change with each hour passed. Icons or status indicators show whether the level is safe for driving.

Sobriety Over Time Graph

A visual line chart plotting your estimated BAC decline over hours. It helps you see when your BAC drops below the Irish drink drive limit.

Data used for calculations

Five factors that determine your result

Weight
Body weight determines how alcohol distributes in the body — more weight means a lower blood alcohol concentration.
Sex
Men and women metabolise alcohol at different rates because of differences in body water content.
Amount
The amount of pure alcohol consumed is the main factor that determines your BAC result.
Strength
A higher strength (%) means more ethanol in the same drink serving.
Time
The time of your first drink shows how BAC changes hour by hour and when you'll be sober again.

How much does Ireland drink?

Alcohol consumption per adult, per year

10.5L

litres of pure alcohol per adult (15+), per year

Per adult, that is roughly:

370 beers ≈ 7/week
583 glasses of wine ≈ 11/week
656 shots ≈ 13/week
10.5 L
0.7 L Ø 8.9 17.1 L

18% above the regional average

Ranks #22 of 51 in Europe Ranks #28 of 188 in the World Average in Europe: 8.9 L

How neighbours compare

#1 France 11.2L #12 Europe
#2 United Kingdom 10.9L #18 Europe
#3 Scotland 10.9L #18 Europe
#4 Ireland 10.5L #22 Europe
#5 Netherlands 8.7L #30 Europe
#6 Belgium 8.7L #30 Europe

How safe are the roads in Ireland?

Road traffic deaths per 100,000 people, per year

3.2 /100k

road traffic deaths per 100,000 people, 2024

~46% of road deaths linked to alcohol WHO estimate, 2019 · 33–60%
3 road deaths per week WHO estimate, 2024
2 alcohol-linked deaths per week WHO-derived estimate
3.2
0.0 Ø 6.7 17.2

52% fewer road deaths than the regional average

#10 safest of 53 in Europe #14 safest of 195 worldwide Average in Europe: 6.7 per 100k

How neighbours compare

#1 United Kingdom 2.4 #6 Europe
#2 Scotland 2.4 #6 Europe
#3 Ireland 3.2 #10 Europe
#4 Netherlands 3.2 #11 Europe
#5 Belgium 4.0 #16 Europe
#6 France 4.6 #19 Europe

Latest available year shown per country.

LIMITS NEARBY

BAC limits in neighbouring countries

Explore the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limits for drivers in neighbouring countries.

UK

United Kingdom

0.8‰
Relaxed
SCOT

Scotland

0.5‰
Moderate
FR

France

0.5‰
Moderate
NL

Netherlands

0.5‰
Moderate
BE

Belgium

0.5‰
Moderate

Drink Driving in Ireland

Drink-driving limits in Ireland (blood alcohol)

Experienced drivers
50mg/100ml
Moderate
Learner & professional drivers
20mg/100ml
Strict
The 20 mg/100ml limit (0.02% BAC) applies to learner permit holders, newly qualified drivers (first 2 years) and professional drivers (HGV, bus, taxi, public service vehicles). Penalties under the Road Traffic Act start at automatic disqualification — even a single drink can put you over the limit.

Penalties for Drink Driving in Ireland

Consequences of exceeding the legal drink-drive limit

50–99 mg/100 ml (fixed-charge band)
  • Fixed-charge penalty €200 (50–80 mg) or €400 (80–100 mg)
  • Automatic 3-month disqualification (50–80 mg) or 6 months (80–100 mg)
  • No court appearance if accepted
100+ mg/100 ml (court conviction)
  • Court fine up to €5,000 and/or 6 months imprisonment
  • 2-year disqualification (100–150 mg) or 3-year (150+ mg) on first offence
  • Vehicle seizure standard during proceedings

Tips for Responsible Drinking

Practical tips for safer drinking

Pace yourself
Stick to the "one drink per hour" rule – your liver needs time to process alcohol.
Eat before and while drinking
A solid meal slows alcohol absorption – an empty stomach raises BAC faster.
Drink water
After each alcoholic drink, have a glass of water – it reduces dehydration and health risks.
Don't drive
Even small amounts of alcohol impair reaction time. If in doubt, call a taxi or stay overnight.

Source: Road Safety Authority (RSA) Ireland.

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