Products, the consumption of which gives a positive breathalyzer test. Our breathalyzer test: what do “allowed” ppm mean? E

The introduction of a maximum amount of alcohol in the blood when driving a vehicle is one of the main means of state regulation of road safety.

As a unit of measurement alcohol intoxication appears per mille- the ratio of grams of alcohol per liter of blood.

The maximum ppm threshold when driving differs in different countries. For example, in Canada the permissible ppm is 0.8, which allows you to drink a glass of beer before the trip.

What is the legal limit for alcohol while driving in Russia? And what will happen if it is violated? Let's figure it out.

Permissible alcohol limit while driving in ppm

For three years, from 2010 to 2013, the permissible rate was “zero” ppm, which completely excluded the possibility of a dispute with traffic police inspectors. However, this norm had many drawbacks. Eating many foods moves the blood alcohol content above zero - chocolate and baked goods, kefir and kvass, juices, yoghurts and overly ripe bananas. Not to mention non-alcoholic beer or many medications.

In 2013, the effect of “zero” ppm was canceled. Now driving a car is allowed if the breathalyzer shows when exhaling no more than 0.16 mg per liter of air. This is the new measurable threshold for intoxication. But ppm is a value that calculates the alcohol content in the blood, not in the air.

0.1 ppm, contrary to popular belief, is not equal to 1 mg/l. To calculate it, a formula is used in which 0.1 ppm contains exactly 0.045 mg/l of alcohol. After calculations, we find that the permissible maximum ppm for the current year is approximately 0.35.

The new standard has minimized the measurement error of the breathalyzer. How to determine the approximate ppm content in the blood after consumption alcoholic drinks?

Determination of blood alcohol content

• the number of degrees in alcohol consumed and the dose drunk;
• weight and gender of a person;
• condition of internal organs and genetic predisposition;
• availability of snacks, their quality and quantity;
• general condition of a person.

It is not difficult to exceed the legal limit for alcohol while driving. 1 ppm is already serious intoxication, which is achieved after drinking an entire 0.5 liter bottle of vodka by a strong man weighing 70-75 kg. The maximum permissible rate is 5 or 6 units per mille. This is already a lethal dose.

In theory, 100 grams of vodka gives 0.55 ppm, and a 0.5 liter bottle of beer – 0.32. In practice, when tested on a breathalyzer, the result may be completely different. The device can overestimate ppm (for example, with alcohol vapor in the lungs after sobering up) or reduce it. To avoid this ambiguity in the definition of intoxication, the critical value of ppm was increased to 0.35.

It is difficult to calculate the ppm content in the body on your own. There are ready-made tables for this, in which a glass of vodka with a capacity of 100 grams is taken as one dose. The results are also quite arbitrary, but can sometimes be useful.

We offer 2 tables with ready-made calculations - separately for men and for women.

BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATIONS IN MEN (PPMILLE)

BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATIONS IN WOMEN (PPMILLE)

How long does it take for alcohol to be detected when exhaled?

To determine the time during which it is better not to get caught by traffic police inspectors after drinking alcohol, it is necessary to take into account many factors, including the rate of absorption of alcohol, the time it takes to be removed from the body and body weight. The highest blood alcohol content is achieved 30 minutes to 2 hours after consumption, depending on the type of drink and the presence of a quality snack.

Many drivers are interested in knowing how long it takes for alcohol to completely disappear from the body. General rule Here it is - you are strictly forbidden to drink alcohol before a planned trip. If you still have a whole day left before driving the car, you can drink freely. The rules are not ironclad, but quite effective.

We suggest looking at a table that shows how long it takes for various alcoholic drinks to be eliminated from the human body. It should only be taken into account that these data are seriously influenced by a person’s weight, gender and health status.

TIME FOR REMOVING ALCOHOL FROM THE BODY (PPMILLE OF ALCOHOL WHEN EXHALATED AIR)

In general, for a healthy man weighing 80 kg, the alcohol dissipation time will be as follows:

• a bottle of beer 0.5 – 2 hours (3 hours when drinking strong beer);
• 200 g of wine – from 2 hours;
• 100 g of vodka - you will have to wait 3.5 hours, 300 g - 11 hours;
• A whole bottle of strong alcohol (40-45 degrees) – 17 hours.

Alcohol elimination time for people of different weights is easily calculated using proportions. But do not forget that the error of instruments for checking the state of intoxication is from 0.1 to 0.16 ppm. To be on the safe side, it is better to add at least an hour to the given data.

Punishment for exceeding the permissible ppm in the body

In 2019, the punishment for driving while intoxicated is quite severe:

• for the first driving while intoxicated - a fine of up to 30 thousand rubles and a sentence of one and a half to two years;
• repeated violation of the law - the fine increases to 50 thousand plus deprivation of rights for 3 years;
• if there is a fine for drunk driving, driving a car will entail administrative arrest for a period of 10 to 15 days;
• if the car owner does not want to be examined for the fact of intoxication, the punishment from him will not be removed (it is the same as for the first violation).

IN State Duma There is constant talk about toughening penalties for drunk driving. It is possible that the amount of fines will increase significantly in the future. By the way, transferring the right to drive a vehicle to a drunk person is punishable in the same way as driving independently while drunk.

Tips for avoiding problems with road inspectors

In addition to the fact that drinking alcohol and driving a car should be kept as far apart as possible, you should also adhere to less obvious rules:

• You should not use medications before traveling, especially those containing ethyl alcohol;
• The consumption of kvass, fermented milk products and juices, although very rare, can still increase the amount of alcohol in the body. Especially when it comes to natural homemade products rather than store-bought ones;
• It will most likely not be possible to fool a breathalyzer; this can only lead to an invitation to take an alcohol test at a specialized medical institution;
• Don't try to hide alcohol with mouthwash or chewing gum;
• In any case, you should not conflict with the traffic police inspector and say rude things to him.

How to increase the speed of alcohol removal from the body? Good decision There will be a contrast shower, sound and long sleep, hot baths. Proper, healthy food and long walks in fresh, fresh water work well to eliminate alcohol. clean air. Let us remind you that when exhaling air, the permissible ppm is no more than 0.35.

07/05 in the evening I drank 100 grams of cognac, 07/06 in the evening I took my husband to work before the trip, took a tablet of spasmalgon, stopped, blew it, the test showed 0.368 ppm. Are there any options in court or definitely deprivation and a fine?

Lawyer's answer:

There are no options. The punishment is fixed. 30,000 rubles fine and imprisonment for 1.5 years.
There will be deprivation of the right to drive (Article 12.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). But you have the right to appeal.
The decision in the case of administrative offense recruitment to administrative liability can be appealed in the manner established by Chapter 30 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation
Article 30.2. The procedure for filing a complaint against a decision in a case of an administrative offense
1. A complaint against a decision in a case of an administrative offense is submitted to the arbitrator, body, official who made the decision on the case and who must, within 3 days from the date of receipt of the complaint, bring it with all the materials of the case to the relevant court, higher body, to a higher official.
2. A complaint against a judge’s decision on the imposition of an administrative penalty in the form of administrative arrest or administrative deportation must be sent to a higher court on the day the complaint is received.
3. A complaint can be filed specifically with a court, a higher body, or a higher official authorized to consider it.

_____________

On 07/16/14 at 6.00 I was stopped by traffic police officers; I was driving a friend’s car. The breathalyzer reading is 0.9 ppm. Now what

Good afternoon! On 07/16/14 at 6.00, traffic police officers stopped me while he was driving a friend’s car. The breathalyzer reading is 0.9 ppm. What's threatening now? I was never deprived and there were not even fines.

Lawyer's answer:

You are threatened with deprivation of your license for 1.5 years plus a fine of 30 rubles. (Article 12.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation)
deprivation of rights for 1.5 years plus a fine of 30 tr.
What punishment is expected?

Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation Art. 12.8. Driving a vehicle by a driver who is in a state of intoxication, transferring control of a vehicle to a person who is in a state of intoxication
— Driving a vehicle by a driver who is in a state of intoxication entails the imposition of adm. a fine of 30 tr. with deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle for a period of one and a half to 2 years.

In this situation, the driver’s lack of fines does not affect the sanction of the article.

What can be done?

You have the right to challenge and appeal this recruitment to the administrator in court. responsibility. To do this, analyze all the issued procedural documents (protocols, resolutions) for the legality of their preparation (their chronological sequence of preparation, the presence of the necessary signatures; recruitment of witnesses; explanation of rights; the procedure for passing a medical examination, etc.

E. got behind the wheel... blew into the tube the ppm was exceeded ((they drew up a protocol on the suspension of the vehicle, an administrative protocol, after two

Hello, I was stopped by traffic police in Bashkiria, the day before I drank on July 27, and on July 28 I went home, i.e. got behind the wheel... blew into a tube, the ppm was exceeded ((they drew up a protocol on the suspension of the vehicle, an administrative protocol, two hours later I was asked to blow into the tube again, it turned out to be 0 ppm and they let me go... They didn’t give me a copy of the protocol... I left... what will happen?

Lawyer's answer:

There will be deprivation of the right to drive.

The trial is scheduled for October 3, is it possible to somehow refute the deprivation of rights for 1.5 years?

Hello, please tell me Dad was stopped at a checkpoint when leaving the city, the inspector forced him to take a breathalyzer test at the checkpoint, the breathalyzer test showed 0.19 ppm (out of the allowed 0.16). They drew up a document on the spot, and my dad signed it and agreed. He works as a driver. The trial is scheduled for October 3, is it possible to somehow refute the deprivation of rights for 1.5 years? Thank you in advance

Lawyer's answer:

If he agreed with everything, then there will be a fine and deprivation (Article 12.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation)
Polina Alexandrovna. Everything depends on certain events. Have you thought of doing an independent examination?
The court will deprive the VU. All hope lies in the error of the breathalyzer.

I was deprived of my license at ppm when the car was parked and I was driving it, not going anywhere. The traffic cop took the documents and completed

I was deprived of my license on the per mille basis when the car was parked and I was sitting behind the wheel in it, not going anywhere. The traffic cop took the documents and processed me as expected. He blew into the device and it showed everything. I signed that I agreed with the examination. My license and documents were handed over. They appointed a trial. Is it possible? travel to court???

Lawyer's answer:

It is possible if you were given a temporary one.
With a temporary permit you will be able to until the court ruling enters into legal force

My husband was issued a protocol for deprivation of his driver’s license for alcohol 0.67 ppm, can they still issue a fine and for how much?

My husband was given a protocol for

About what it is ppm alcohol, we often hear, however, not everyone knows how to correctly understand acceptable standards. What alcohol limit is permissible for a driver?

When driving while intoxicated, the driver faces not only a fine of 30 thousand rubles, but also deprivation of his license for 1.5 - 2 years (Articles 12.27 and 12.8 of the Administrative Code). Moreover, from year to year, liability for violation of these points becomes more stringent. If the driver gets caught a second time, the driver will have to pay 50 thousand rubles and give up driving for 3 years. The public unanimously agrees that driving while intoxicated is terrible, however, they agree on what is acceptable norm ppmille can not.

How much is it allowed to drink and drive?

In some countries, moderate drinking while driving is legal. Small amounts of alcohol can even be contained in many foods, so even an avid teetotaler may have alcohol readings. This effect is achieved by fermented kefir or kvass, carbonated drinks, berries and fruits, etc. Some number of ppm may appear precisely after consuming such products, and this is already a reason for the traffic police officer to apply severe punishment, although in fact there is no reason for it.

The use of certain medications is also dangerous in this regard - for a certain period of time they increase the alcohol content in the blood. Even simple heart drops (Corvalol, valerian, etc.) have a similar effect, so using them before a trip can cause a positive breathalyzer reaction. In this case, it is necessary to appeal by law (Article 12.8 of the Code of Administrative Offences, note): the driver is prohibited from using any substances that lead to intoxication, and these are drugs, alcohol, toxicological and psychotropic drugs. Therefore, liability for violation of the law occurs only when the presence of ethyl alcohol in a concentration higher than 0.16 mg/liter, and the presence of psychotropic substances is proven by the results of urine and blood tests.

The picture shows drinks that after a certain time will give 0.3 ppm in the driver's blood. The law does not provide that the breathalyzer readings must be confirmed in any other way, for example, lack of coordination, unsteady gait, etc. Medical examination does not require clinical confirmation of the results. That is, the rule of law requires complete sobriety from the driver - there are no gradations and discounts regarding tonic low-alcohol drinks (beer and “energy drinks”), which are recognized in many countries. A threshold of 0.16 mg/liter completely eliminates problems with errors in the readings of the device, and also eliminates errors with natural doses of alcohol in the readings.

Rosstandart established the specified alcohol standards based on numerous studies - both theoretical and practical. Indicators are also taken into account different types breathalyzers. Majority measuring instruments give an error within 0.03-0.04 mg/l. Remaining stock acceptable values- this is a “discount” on the influence of a number of other external conditions (presence of alcohol vapor in environment, humidity, air temperature, etc.). The lower threshold of the study was the same during all studies - regardless of the type of breathalyzer, it was equal to 0.16 mg/l.

A few words about ppm.

Permille is a unit of change in alcohol concentration. There is also "milligram per liter", but "ppm" is more often used in international practice. If mg/l is a unit that shows the concentration of alcohol in the air, then ppm allows you to determine the alcohol content in the blood. Researchers have proven that there is a strictly proportional relationship between the volume of alcohol in the lung air and its content in the blood. That is, mg/l and ppm are different physical units, different parameters, but they have a close relationship with each other. If a person's blood contains 1 ppm of alcohol, this means that the alcohol concentration in his body is 0.45 mg/l. Thus, constant ppm ratio and mg/l is 1:0.45. Thus, the permissible dose threshold is 0.35 ppm.

There are devices that can give readings in both ppm and mg/l. However, when drawing up acts in such cases, mg/l is indicated - this is required by law.

An erroneous conclusion about the driver’s condition can occur even after a medical examination, which is carried out using special instruments. In this case, the problem is resolved in court.

How much do you need to drink to reach 0.3 ppm of alcohol?

The usual shot of vodka gives an alcohol consumption of 40 grams. In the blood it is absorbed in the form of 0.5-0.6‰ (ppm). Alcohol oxidation in the body occurs at a rate of about 7 - 10 g/hour, that is, the decrease will be 0.1-0.16‰. Thus, it takes about 4 - 5 hours for this stack to completely disappear from the body.

About 0.5‰ of alcohol content in the blood is also given by 0.5 liters of beer or 1 glass of dry wine for a man weighing 80 kg. In order to reduce the level to 0.3‰, it takes a little more than an hour. The lower the body weight, the higher the concentration of alcohol in the blood will be when consuming the same amount of alcohol.

Alcohol oxidation, by the way, occurs not only in the stomach, but also in the liver. Therefore, in the case of a snack after drinking, the process of assimilation of alcohol into the blood slows down, that is, its maximum concentration in the blood also becomes less. If you drink on an empty stomach and do not have a snack, then the absorption of alcohol occurs quickly, and its content in the blood is maximum. Carbonated drinks are absorbed faster.

It is worth noting that a woman’s body is much more susceptible to alcohol. The same dose of alcohol affects representatives of different sexes of the same weight differently: a woman gets drunk faster and comes down slower.

Thus, before the trip, drinking alcohol is allowed, but at least 4 hours are needed for it to completely disappear - this is provided that no more than the indicated doses are used. Adjustments should also be made for medications and snacks. In this case, the meeting with the traffic police inspector will be absolutely safe and will not end in trouble.

Designed for independent determination of blood alcohol concentration based on the quantity and quality of alcoholic beverages consumed.

The reasons why people drink alcohol can be completely different. Some people drink intoxicating drinks to relax, some to gain courage, and some to forget and get away from problems. In all cases, we should not forget that excessive alcohol consumption has a detrimental effect on human health and can lead to irreversible consequences.

Our calculator can be useful in different cases:

• If you plan to drive after a feast;
• You want to calculate the maximum allowable dose of alcohol for yourself;
• You want to know how long after drinking alcohol you can safely drive a car, etc.

Knowing what specific concentration of ethanol (pure alcohol) you have in your blood at any given time will help you make decisions regarding your trips as a driver. vehicle and calculate the time interval until sobriety occurs.

Drunk driving law

Statistics show that about a third of all road accidents occur due to drunk drivers. It is not surprising that the country has a law prohibiting driving while intoxicated.

Until 2010, there were restrictions on the permissible level of ethanol in the blood and exhaled air. Thus, the maximum possible level of alcohol in the blood was 0.3 ppm, and in the exhaled air - 0.15 mg/l. Thus, it was possible to drive without fear, for example, after a bottle of weak beer.

Starting from August 6, 2010, the requirements became more stringent. Now the concentration of alcohol in both the blood and exhaled air should be zero. If a drunk driver nevertheless dares to get behind the wheel of a car, he faces deprivation of driver's license for a period of one and a half to two years (according to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, Article 12.8). The same penalty is provided if the driver gives control of the car to a person who is intoxicated.

It is important to understand that a driver is now recognized as drunk only according to the readings of a special device - a breathalyzer. A breathalyzer is a special technical device, which serves to determine the concentration of ethanol in exhaled air.

Foods and drinks that increase ppm

Even if the driver does not drink alcoholic beverages at all, he still should not let his guard down, because a certain amount of ppm is found in various other products. For example, yeast kvass contains from 0.1 to 0.6 ppm, and kefir and ayran contain 0.2 ppm.
A small amount of ethanol is also released in many fruits: oranges, bananas. Among the ingredients, alcohol can be found in chocolate, cakes, and pastries. Also, medications containing alcohol can affect the breathalyzer readings. Among such medicines are motherwort, Corvalol, valerian, calendula, etc.

How long does alcohol last?

Unfortunately, there are simply no universal indicators of how long a particular portion of alcohol will remain in the blood. Each person is unique, the rate of absorption of alcohol is different for everyone. Here are some factors that influence the speed of this process:

• Height, weight of a person. The higher these indicators are, the larger the portion a person needs to become intoxicated;
• Floor. In most cases, women get drunk faster than men;
• Genetic predisposition. Sensitivity to alcohol is inherited;
• General condition of the body. For example, drinking a dose of alcohol on an empty stomach will intoxicate you faster and, accordingly, will remain in the blood longer.

Since even for one person the toxic effects of alcohol can take different times, you should not take the calculator readings literally.
However, the average alcohol concentration in the human body can be calculated. It is known that different drinks intoxicate differently. For example, the concentration of alcohol in the body of a man weighing 80 kg will be 0.3 ppm (this is the term for the unit of measurement of alcohol) if he drinks:

• 50 grams of vodka;
• Or 200 grams of dry wine;
• Or 500 grams of beer.

The maximum concentration of alcohol in the human body lasts from 30 minutes to several hours after consumption, then gradually subsides.

In order for you to independently calculate the amount of alcohol in your blood, you need to enter in the form fields information about your gender, weight, indicate whether you drank drinks on an empty stomach or not, and also mark all types of drinks you drank and indicate their portion.

They mean that you still cannot drink before the trip, and the relaxation was made for other purposes. But first things first.

Russia is, after all, a country of paradoxes, and so is the planned wording of the article. 12.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses contains a contradiction: on the one hand, it once again emphasizes the complete ban on drinking alcohol before driving (in the note), on the other hand, it introduces a new, non-zero limit for intoxication. Thus, it is proposed to consider a person sober if he has less than 0.16 mg/l of alcohol in his exhaled air or less than 0.35 g/l in his blood. These limits are even slightly more liberal than those in force before 2010 - 0.15 mg/l and 0.3 g/l, respectively. Yesterday, July 2, the State Duma approved the relevant amendments in the second reading.

Green ppm

In Canada, for example, 0.8 ppm (0.36 mg/l) is acceptable, and the norm assumes that the driver can drink a little before the trip - say, a glass or two of beer. But make no mistake: the Russian approach is radically different! Our “allowed” 0.16 mg/l is not actually allowed. Doesn't that happen? Happens. The Code and traffic rules still require complete sobriety of the driver, and some relaxations have been made to take into account the errors of breathalyzers, and at the same time to eliminate the problem of the endogenous (natural) level of alcohol in the blood of some people.

The limits are justified by Rosstandart, which, on behalf of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, examined and took into account the errors of the breathalyzers used. Moreover, I took into account very generously, so to speak, with a reserve: in general, for most professional breathalyzers, the permissible basic error is 0.02-0.04 mg/l, and, apparently, the indicated 0.16 mg/l assumes all possible risk factors. These are the so-called permissible additional errors associated with adverse weather conditions (breathalyzers are sensitive to temperature and humidity), the presence of impurities in the air, the natural background of the driver, and so on.

At the same time, officials claim that even minimal doses of alcohol will actually exceed the specified limit, because it is very, very small. But is this really so, we decided to check. And they came to the conclusion that perhaps the officials had gone a little overboard in their efforts to please the people...

From personal experience

Tested on minimal doses of alcohol. Of course, you could drip motherwort onto your tongue, but we understand that for most Russians the “dividing price” of beer is one mug, vodka is a shot glass, champagne is a glass. We took three drinks and equalized them based on the amount of pure alcohol. It turned out to be 500 grams of beer (this is slightly less than a standard bottle), vodka – 62 grams (shot glass), champagne – 250 grams, which approximately corresponds to a glass.

They blew every 10 minutes for the first hour and a half and every 20 minutes thereafter. The graph of changes in alcohol in exhaled air after a glass of champagne for a man weighing 72 kg is shown below. Peak intoxication of 0.29 mg/l (in air) is equivalent to 0.64 ppm (in blood), that is, almost twice the limit.

The table below shows the measurement results. Do not forget that the error of the device somewhat blurs the readings, so the 0.15 mg/l “inflated” by me after beer may in reality be 0.18 mg/l. Thus, even half a liter of beer brings me to the risk zone, and for myself I have already decided: not to mess with even malt beer.

The rest of the drinks hit even harder, with vodka and champagne (with equal alcohol content) about the same: peak values ​​for three subjects, including one girl, were 0.26-0.3 mg/l, that is, far in the red zone. Here, without any error, it is clear that deprivation of rights is guaranteed. Interestingly, the lighter girl showed a lower peak of intoxication than the man with the same dose of champagne. This is somewhat contrary to theory, but in fact it simply shows the individuality of each organism.

Suggested sobriety zone – up to 0.16 mg/l

Please note that the rate of removal of alcohol from the body is much lower than the rate of its introduction there. This is a note to those who are sure that in the 20-30 minutes that pass between blowing into a tube and the examination in the narcologist’s office, everything will clear up for him. In 30 minutes, approximately one-fifth of a beer mug will disappear (this is a rough estimate, but sufficient for understanding).

For those who like to look for the limit, relying on various tables or the experience of experienced people, we can say with confidence - don’t try. The absorption and removal of alcohol from the blood is an individual, multifactorial process, and the popular Internet “sobering up” tables we tested (including a professional online calculator) gave a strong discrepancy with real data - up to 30%. Often this is enough to lose your rights. You shouldn’t rely on someone’s assurances that after half a liter of beer he is really sober - he may be sober, but the characteristics of your body will give you a 100% increase. Pay attention, for example, to the speed of sobering up from a bottle of beer: our operator Andrei Vinnikov did it in two and a half hours, it took me an hour more!

Subjective breathalyzer

Many were jealous, because we spent the whole day in the kitchen, hugging a breathalyzer and a minibar. But in reality there was nothing particularly funny.

The euphoria from 25 grams of alcohol in all cases lasted approximately 10-20 minutes, and then there was a sharp decline in mood, apathy, fatigue, and the state lasted until complete sobering after 3.5-4 hours. This is another reason why I personally don’t plan to “measure” even taking into account the new sobriety limits: it’s easy to miscalculate, and the pleasure lasts 10 times less than drunkenness.

The degree of intoxication of 0.15-0.18 mg/l is felt: in addition to looseness and opportunistic moods, the language becomes heavier - I said the introductory text for the video about the sixth time. But God be with him, with his tongue, but looseness while slightly intoxicated is very dangerous when it comes to driving. It seems that the reaction has not yet worsened, and your hands are not shaking yet, but you allow yourself more than usual. And if a colleague slaps you in the face with his hand because of your recklessness, then the car will immediately become an airbag.

And don’t forget that even a minimal dose of alcohol is a smell from the mouth that lasts for four hours. And the smell is one of the reasons why a traffic police inspector can offer you a fascinating journey into the world of precision instruments and confusing acts.

Is the ppm adequate?

Now let’s return to the government’s initiative to return the ppm – is it advisable? To be honest, the test gave me strong skepticism: is it necessary to return these limits at all?

We trust Rosstandart’s research, but there is a feeling that taking into account all conceivable errors at the same time creates too large a margin of “about to drink” in normal conditions. The 0.16 mg/l limit is insidious because it separates not five drops of Corvalol from a glass of beer, but a glass of beer from a mug or a small glass of wine from a large one. That is, it encourages unconscious elements to play the lottery with a breathalyzer.

The problem is that the average intoxication of 0.16 mg/l (excluding rare cases) most often does not mean complete abstinence from alcohol. That is, if a professional breathalyzer shows 0.15 mg/l, there is a very specific probability that the driver was drinking something: maybe it was a glass of beer or a hangover. And this contradicts the concept of a complete ban on alcohol while driving, as required by the same edited Code of Administrative Offences.

Opponents of “zero ppm” like to cite the example of civilized countries, such as the USA and Canada, where the permitted limits are significantly higher. But the picture is usually presented one-sidedly. Look at the legal levels of intoxication in different countries without cuts: the Czech Republic and Hungary, for example, live with a zero limit, and Israel uses minimum values. With the new limits, Russia falls exactly between liberal countries and teetotaler countries, and there is a catch in this intermediateness. Either it is possible, or it is not... But for the Russian mentality, halftones are incomprehensible: we want to know exactly how much it is in grams.

Mentality generally plays an important role in the issue. Countries with high legal limits, like Canada, have a long-standing driving and drinking culture that has been crossed at 0.8 ppm. Russia doesn’t like to waste time on trifles, and we don’t have a historically established tradition of one safe “drink.” Just as there are no breathalyzers in bars, there is no escalation of liability for drunken accidents without victims, there are no criminal articles for severe degrees of intoxication.

Even during the alcohol test, we felt this: balancing on a minimum dose is very boring - your hand is literally reaching out to pour out a new portion of euphoria...

But on the other hand, deputies also have their own reasons. What's the problem with zero? The possible error of the breathalyzer. The instructions have a convenient value for the main error, which is indicated in the inspection report and seems to serve as a protection against recording extremely small values. But if you delve deeper into metrology, there are additional errors that are caused by temperature conditions or the presence of impurities in the surrounding air.

And here a whole bunch of problems arise. During the inspection, traffic police inspectors often do not bother with pedantically following the instructions, do not measure the air temperature, the content of impurities in it... In fact, additional errors are not taken into account.

Why? In the same instructions there are temperature errors that need to be added to the main ones, but sometimes these additions are so large that they make the picture too blurry: for example, other devices with a stated error of 0.02 mg/l under certain conditions can “squint” at 0. 3 mg/l, and this, you see, is a difference. At the same time, metrologists say that the additional errors are actually much smaller than those indicated in the instructions for extreme cases, and in fact, for each specific condition, only a metrologist with additional equipment can calculate the real error.

It is clear that “zero ppm” is a possible instrument of arbitrariness by traffic police officers, but this is a slightly different topic. Because arbitrariness can occur at any limit. During the experiment, from time to time the breathalyzer gave highly inflated readings (up to 0.5 mg/l with a real degree of intoxication of 0.08 mg/l): apparently, droplets of alcohol from the saliva of the subjects got onto the mouthpiece, removing which, it was possible to return the readings to normal . And for arbitrariness, a microscopic drop of alcohol on the mouthpiece is enough to achieve any degree of “sort of intoxication.” So there would be a goal, but there would be a way. But I’ll emphasize once again: the problem of setups has nothing to do with the limit. A banal agreement between inspectors and a medical institution will make a person no matter how drunk - even the permitted 0.8 ppm will not save you.

Why not consider a progressive scale of punishment? It is used in many countries, and there are many options: in some places there is criminal liability for severe degrees of intoxication, in others alcohol in the blood is punishable in in case of an accident(even without sacrifices): having taken a small dose, you take on double responsibility and almost always end up in the extreme.

For Russia, it would probably be more suitable simple system, like progressive penalties for speeding. The minimum degree of intoxication is a fine, for stronger ones - a large fine, then deprivation of rights, and for those especially gifted - criminal liability. At least it would be clear - you can’t drink and drive, period.

And the proposed limit is two-faced. After all, all this complex metrology is very difficult to convey to the masses. The very idea that the degree of intoxication cannot be established below 0.16 mg/l leads people to think about allowing alcohol while driving. Conduct a survey of your friends: the vast majority of people perceive such initiatives this way. And maybe it would have been better not to carry out another revolution, but to strengthen control over the procedure for deprivation of rights? Invest in more accurate breathalyzers, oblige inspectors to record all measurement parameters (including air temperature), and the courts to enforce laws in full accordance with their letter?

Well, yes, it's too difficult...