Drink-Driving Limits Around the World: Zero Tolerance to 0.08

Quick answer: There is no single "legal limit" for drinking and driving — it depends entirely on the country. Dozens of countries enforce zero tolerance (any measurable alcohol is an offence), most of Europe sits at 0.05 g/dL, and the US, UK and Canada allow 0.08 — one of the world's most permissive standards. Our driving laws directory lists the limit for all 195 countries.

The world map of alcohol limits, in four tiers

Zero tolerance (0.00). Brazil's "Lei Seca", the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Nepal, Vietnam, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina all treat any measurable alcohol as an offence. Several Gulf states — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE — combine zero tolerance with a general alcohol prohibition, where the penalties extend well beyond losing a licence.

The 0.02–0.03 band. Sweden and Norway (0.02), Poland and Ukraine (0.02), China, Japan, Russia and South Korea (around 0.03) — low enough that a single drink can put an average adult over the line. This band exists because impairment is measurable long before drunkenness: reaction time and night vision degrade from the first drink.

The 0.05 standard. Most of continental Europe — Germany, France, Spain, Italy, plus Australia, Thailand and South Africa. This is the level WHO recommends as a maximum, and many 0.05 countries add a stricter or zero limit for novice drivers: Italy, Croatia and Slovenia are zero for new licence holders.

The 0.08 outliers. The United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Mexico allow roughly double the European standard. Even here the edges are tightening: Scotland broke from the rest of the UK at 0.05, and Utah from the rest of the US at 0.05.

Why the number matters less than people think

Every one of these limits is a legal threshold, not a safety threshold. Driving skill measurably degrades below 0.02 — well under every legal limit on earth. The practical translation of the world's drink-driving laws is simpler than the map suggests: if you are driving tonight, the safe number of drinks is zero, in every country, under every legal system.

Travelling? Three things to check before you drive

• Look up your destination's limit — and its novice rule, if your licence is recent — in the driving laws directory
• Check which side of the road it drives on and whether you need an International Driving Permit; both are on each country's page
• Save the local emergency number from our emergency numbers directory before the trip, not during the emergency

What this data does NOT mean

A permissive limit does not mean safer roads, and a strict one does not guarantee them — enforcement decides everything. Alcohol is one factor among several in each country's crash toll; you can see the full picture, including WHO-estimated death rates for every country, on our global driving-risk rankings and each country's live tracking page. Laws also change: our directory was verified in August 2026, and posted local rules always override any table on the internet, including ours.