The Coventry Evening Telegraph has teamed up with West Midlands Police in a bid to stop people getting behind the wheel after a drink this Christmas. As part of the campaign reporter Helena Markovic found out first hand the effects alcohol can have on driving. Here she tells all...

It's not often that I am asked to go and get drunk in the name of journalism. And even more unlikely that I then have to get behind the wheel of a car and start driving.

But here I was, looking at the road ahead feeling slightly inebriated after two-and-a-half pints.

I was driving along at a steady 60mph when suddenly a voice shouted stop and I slammed on the brakes a little too late.

Fortunately for me the road ahead was, in fact, a computer screen, the voice was a recording and the car I was driving was a simulator at the BSM Centre In Hertford Street, Coventry.

I had joined Peter Farmer, regional manager for BSM, to use the simulator to test my reaction times for emergency stops before and after drinking. And the outcome was quite alarming.

I practised the exercise at 40mph and then repeated it at 60mph. Worryingly, even after just two-and-a-half pints (which is the equivalent of about five units of alcohol) I didn't feel particularly drunk and I might have thought I was fine to drive. But it made a huge difference to my ability behind the wheel.

At 37.6mph, my overall stopping distance was 31.1 metres but after drinking and with a speed of 38.8mph it had increased to 40.4 metres. That's a 29.9 per cent increase or the equivalent of 9.3 metres. At 61.9mph my overall stopping distance was 66.1 metres but again after drinking and with a speed of 60.9mph it had increased to 69.4 metres. And if you take into account the 1mph speed difference, that's a 16 per cent increase or the equivalent of 10 extra metres.

Even more disturbing was that, according to BSM, my test results should improve by 10 per cent each practice attempt. And the simulator was only testing a small part of my driving skills. In a real situation, I would also have to be aware of other motorists, pedestrians, road signs and much more.

Peter said: "We have used the driving simulator at BSM on a number of occasions to highlight the fact that even a small amount of alcohol can impair a driver's judgement.

"The reaction times of drivers drop and the result is that an individual is more likely to be killed rather than injured as a result of drink driving.

"If drinking alcohol slows down your reaction time and therefore increases your stopping distance by even just one metre, that metre could be the difference between hitting someone or not."

But was I over the limit? My next visit was to see PC Brett Bambury at Little Park Street Police Station for a breath test.

The hand-held breathalyser, which is used in roadside checks, failed me straight away.

To double check, I was led down to the custody block for a second test on the Intoxilyser, which determines the exact amount of alcohol in a person's system.

The legal limit is 35 micro-grammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. I registered 39mg on my first attempt and 37mg on the second go. It meant I was over the legal limit.

But PC Bambury explained that although 35mg was the legal limit, I would have had to register 40mg or more to face prosecution. And even then, there was the option of providing an extra blood sample instead which must register under 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.

It meant that legally I could drive but PC Bambury advised me to leave my car and either wait until I was sober or get home by some other means.

He added: "There are so many factors - such as your age, sex and weight, whether you have eaten and how fast your body can metabolise alcohol - that it is impossible to say how much you need to drink to stay within the limit.

"Nobody knows what their personal limit is as everyone is different so the safest option when driving is to just not drink at all."

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