Hip-flask defense: An experimental study in the Hungarian population

Toxicology tests and medical expert opinions are part of routine work in drunk driving cases in both domestic and international practice. The greatest challenge to forming an opinion is that the perpetrator claims to have consumed alcohol after the act of driving. To determine the time of consumption, it is essential to establish whether the alcohol in the body was in the absorption phase or in the elimination phase when the sample was collected. In domestic practice, breath alcohol content can be measured several times, two blood samples can be collected, and both blood and urine samples can be taken almost simultaneously. A recent Swedish study showed that taking a single blood sample and two urine samples allows for a more accurate examination of consumption after the fact. This study aimed to examine the applicability of such model to the domestic environment. We conducted a controlled drinking experiment involving 15 Hungarian casual drinker volunteers aged 18–25 years who consumed different amounts of alcohol at specified times while providing regular breath alcohol measurements as well as blood and urine samples. These measurement results provided accurate information about the changes in alcohol metabolism compared to the time of drinking and allowed us to draw the necessary conclusions, offering further evidence that alcohol metabolism can vary significantly between different ethnic groups. The results showed that the absorption and excretion of ethyl alcohol in the volunteers were much faster than those in the current Hungarian standards used in practice. In conclusion, the comparison of blood and urine samples collected between 60 min and 120 min cannot be considered suitable for establishing the fact of drinking after driving in Hungarian practice, and a local model is needed.