Question
What is the halachic definition of driving drunk (at what point is a person obligated not to drive)? Is it after one sip of alcohol, one drink?
Answer
Hi,
The answer to the question has to parts:
a. The Law: As citizens, Judaism says that we must keep the law of the land, so Jewish law forbids one from driving a car as soon as he is legally barred from doing so.
b. The Spirit of the Law: We are responsible to not place a stumbling block before a blind person. If we can not do that to tohers, surely we may not do it to ourselves. We may not get behind the wheel of a car if we are in any way impaired from driving that car safely.