HOW many drinks can you have and still be safe to drive?

It’s a tough question, which even Essex Police’s traffic cops struggle to answer.

The legal limit is 35mcgs of alcohol in 100mls of breath, but does this equate to a pint of Stella or a glass of wine?

PC Gary Winfield, who is based at Boreham, said the problem is it’s just so hard to judge – and you can easily end up losing your driving licence if you’re caught over the limit.

He said: “It’s how you feel on the day, your metabolism, your build, how regularly you drink – there’s all sorts of factors.

“A prime example is a young woman I stopped at about 11.45pm, because she was touching her brakes so often.

“She’d only had one glass of wine but she’d not eaten all day. She had a bad cold and was very ill. She blew a reading over the limit.

“When people ask me ‘how much can I drink?’, I say nothing.”

Police started their shift at about 6pm and they soon started pulling over motorists driving with broken lights.

Before they can stop a motorist to test their breath, officers must first see them commit a moving traffic offence, such as a broken light, or have reason to suspect they are over the limit.

This is often because the motorist is straying across the white lines of the road.

PC Mark Hercules, based at South Woodham Ferrers, said many people slip up after their Christmas office parties.

He added: “What the public don’t seem to realise is the day after they have a drink they think they are fine, but they’re not because they still have alcohol in their system.

“We get quite a few arrests like that throughout the year, but more so at Christmas.

“They go out to their parties until 2am and then try to drive to work the next day – especially commuters to London. They don’t think anything of it.”

Motorists testing over the limit will almost certainly get a driving ban. Failure to give a breath test is also an offence, which can land you in court.

A 35-year-old woman was pulled over during the patrol for having a broken light, no MOT, and an illegal number plate. She ended up with an expensive Christmas after receiving a £120 fine, but she was supportive of the drink-drive campaign.

She said: “This is the first time I’ve been breathalysed.

“I think they should be out all year round because drink-drivers cause carnage.”

Throughout the evening on patrol, police carried out 90 breath tests. Only one person was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.

Another driver was arrested on suspicion of being unfit to drive through drugs and possession of an offensive weapon.

Overall, the number of people giving positive breath tests is a tiny fraction of the number of drivers on the roads.

It may be the snow and ice on the roads which has prevented people having a Christmas tipple before taking to the roads.

Or it may be that the message is finally getting through.