NEW: I Only Had One Drink. Can They Still Arrest Me?

Can You Be Arrested After One Drink? | Drink Driving Ireland

Meta Description: Think one drink is safe? Find out why even a single glass of wine can lead to arrest, custody, and TUSLA referral. Know the hidden risks before you drive.

You probably already know the answer. But what you might not know is why the answer matters so much.

Let me explain it in a way that might hit home.

Imagine This

You’re sitting in your car outside football training. The kids are nearly finished.

You’ve had one drink, a pint of beer, maybe half an hour ago.

'And if you do you will be arrested,

as sure as night follows day,

so there's no point protesting:

"Ahh Guard give me a break. Sure you can tell I'm not drunk"

You’re feeling fine. Not tipsy. Not slurring your words.

You think: I’m surely under the limit.

You drive off. A few minutes later, you approach a mandatory Garda checkpoint.

These checkpoints allow Gardai to test anyone, whether they believe them to be impaired or not.

Your heart sinks. But still, you tell yourself that you’ve got nothing to hide.

But there’s a flicker of doubt.

The Garda steps up, asks if you’ve had anything to drink. You say yes—just one.

He nods and takes out the small handheld breath tester. You’re asked to blow.

And then it happens:

FAIL.

What Just Happened?

You likely didn’t fail because you were over the limit.

You failed because the roadside device doesn’t measure your breath alcohol concentration. It just detects the presence of alcohol on your breath.

That’s it. That’s all it does. And there is alcohol on your breath.

And now you’re under arrest.

What Happens Next?

Of immediate concern are the kids in the backseat. You cant take them with you to the station.

Maybe you’re allowed to call your spouse to collect the kids from the side of the road while you sit in a Garda car, humiliated.

You’re taken to the station. Maybe you’re placed in the back of a patrol van, possibly in a cage.

You’re tested again at the station. This time, it’s scientific. Evidenzer breath alcohol machine. Let’s say it shows you’re under the legal limit.

You feel relief—but you’ve still spent an hour or two in custody.

You’ve still been arrested. The kids were still left stranded while everyone waited for your partner to arrive at the scene to pick them up.

And she’s furious.

You’re now under suspicion of drink driving with minors in the car.

So, what comes next?

A referral to TUSLA, the Child and Family Agency.

Automatically.

Because any arrest involving children triggers it.

And if you’re separated? Expect a fast return to the Family Court by your ex.

Your parenting will be scrutinised. Your judgment questioned.

"Remember that disgraceful investigation into

that kind Guard who gave an elderly man an

abandoned bike in the station store room during Covid?

That was a rusty old bike.

What do you think they'd do to a Garda who didn't arrest a potential drink driver?"

The Misunderstood Risk

You never intended to drive drunk.

You thought you were making a responsible decision by just having one beer while the kids ran around the football pitch. Surely you couldn't be over the limit after one beer in an hour?

But you're looking at it wrong. Those roadside breath testing devices don't measure if you're over the limit.

Just if you have alcohol on your breath.

And if you do you will be arrested, as sure as night follows day, so there's no point protesting "Ahh Guard give me a break. Sure you can tell I'm not drunk"

They're not taking a chance on you. Why? Because if they did, if they didnt arrest someone who failed a roadside breath test, an internal inquiry would be set up.

And anyone who knows how venomous these internal Garda inquiries are will tell you that there's nothing Garda Management won't do to crucify one of their own.

Remember that disgraceful investigation into that kind Guard who gave an elderly man an abandoned bike in the station store room during Covid?

That poor Guard was suspended for 3 years while vast sums of the taxpayer's money was wasted on this farce.

And that was a rusty old bike that nobody wanted.

What do you think they'd do to a Garda who didn't arrest a potential drink driver?

The system doesn’t test your intention.

It responds to a signal—alcohol on the breath—and that alone is enough to set everything in motion.

So, Can You Have One Drink and Drive?

If you’re asking whether it’s legal, maybe.

But if you’re asking whether it’s safe—legally, reputationally, personally—the real answer is clear:

You already know.

After all, it’s the choice between going off the road or driving home.

And everybody wants to drive home.