Treatment at an alcohol abuse centre is probably the only answer.. A national collection of Chinese herbs should be set up at Kew Gardens to reduce the incidence of poisoning from traditional remedies, according to a group of senior doctors. Young Mutineers are outnumbered three to one by the middle-aged. Some of these are out-and-out alcoholics; others drink-drive as part of a wider pattern of misusing alcohol.

The Hardened Mutineer probably won't be affected by any change in the law. And anyway, let's not be doing with false modesty, I'm a bit of an ace driver Sometimes I think I drive even better when I've had a few It's different for bad drivers, but I can hold me drink, me. I haven't told you that already, have I?'Some Mutineers know they are drunk and take a calculated risk - "I need the car at home for a long journey tomorrow so I will have to risk it tonight". (The trouble is our ability to balance possible risk against probable benefit diminishes with alcohol.) But most Repeat Mutineers are people with drink problems. The driving Calculator also takes into account other variables - familiarity with the car and the route, the state of the weather, whether a journey calls for the sustained concentration of motorway driving as against a 15-minute dash home on the back roads.THE MUTINEER'I can hold my drink, me.

Balancing risk and benefit is one of the basic processes of living. Most people underestimate how many drinks they can have and stay under the limit, psychologists say. But they do have an instinctive notion of when their driving ability begins to be impaired. This internal breathalyser is governed by many variables - our weight, diet, whether we are tired or drinking on an empty stomach The Calculator tries to balance out these risks.

Maybe I should have a had a bit more to eat, a bit of the bread roll to soak it up But I think I'm all right I'm sure I am.'Most drivers take some risk. Finally there are those with fierce commitment: members of Mothers Against Drunken Drivers with the terrible motivation of a dead or injured child, or those with the ideological certainty of puritans who see everything in black and white.THE CALCULATOR'I'm not over the limit I'm sure I'm not .. I just had a couple of glasses Well, two and a half if you count the spritzer. For a start there is the 10 per cent of the population who are teetotallers, along with another 10-15 per cent who drink only at Christmas or on special occasions. Then there are those, like taxi drivers and driving instructors, who have too much to lose. Next, say psychologists, are those who are more aware of alcohol's effects on them - who know that once they start to drink they become more malleable so they avoid temptation. Then there are the drivers who lack confidence in their own driving ability and want to take no extra risks. Those who are too weak to master their urges are, in my view, a bit pathetic really.'There are a number of drivers who never drink out of conviction (and not the criminal kind).