Mauritius • Drink & drug driving

Don't let one decision change a life.

Alcohol and driving are a dangerous combination. Know the Mauritian legal limits, understand what impairment can do to driving, and recognise the consequences before the journey begins.

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Safety principle: the legal limit is a legal threshold, not a recommended amount of alcohol to consume before driving.

Know before you drive

Drink & Drug Driving in Mauritius

Clear, practical information on limits, impairment, penalties, drug driving and rehabilitation.

20
mg / 100 ml bloodMauritius prescribed limit
9
µg / 100 ml breathMauritius prescribed limit
12+
monthsMinimum first-conviction licence disqualification

Know the rules.
Understand the consequences.

The official Mauritian limits, and how impairment and penalties can affect a driver, passengers and other road users.

Prescribed alcohol limits in Mauritius

The Road Traffic Act sets the prescribed limits as:

  • 20 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 ml of blood.
  • 27 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 ml of urine.
  • 9 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 ml of breath.
The limit is not a drinking allowance.

There is no reliable “number of drinks” that guarantees a driver will remain below a legal threshold. Alcohol affects people differently and can impair judgement, concentration, coordination, visual acuity and reaction time.

Drink driving is not only about feeling drunk. The Mauritius Police Force describes it as a major cause of serious injury and fatal road accidents and warns that alcohol impairs skills needed for safe driving.

Mauritius Police: official information

What can happen after a conviction?

First conviction

  1. Fine of not less than Rs 20,000 and not more than Rs 50,000.
  2. Imprisonment for not more than 5 years.
  3. Driving-licence disqualification for a minimum of 12 months.

Second or subsequent conviction

  1. Fine of not less than Rs 50,000 and not more than Rs 75,000.
  2. Imprisonment of not less than 12 months and not more than 8 years.
  3. Cancellation of the driving licence and disqualification for a minimum of 24 months.
Penalties under Section 123D

Penalties for causing death by careless driving while under the influence of intoxicating drink or drugs have been significantly increased.

First conviction

  • Fine: increased to a range of Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000 (previously Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000).
  • Imprisonment: a term not exceeding 5 years.
  • Licence sanction: mandatory cancellation of the driving licence and disqualification from driving.

Second or subsequent conviction

  • Fine: increased to a range of Rs 200,000 to Rs 500,000 (previously Rs 75,000 to Rs 100,000).
  • Imprisonment: a term of 12 months to 8 years.
  • Licence sanction: definitive cancellation of the driving licence and prolonged disqualification.

Important: penalties can depend on the precise offence, conviction and applicable law. This page is road-safety information, not legal advice.

Drug driving in Mauritius

Drug driving is a serious road-safety issue. Driving under the influence of drugs is detectable and punishable under the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2019.

Prescription does not automatically mean “safe to drive”.

Some medicines can affect alertness, reaction time or judgement. Drivers should follow medical and medicine-specific advice and avoid driving when a medicine makes driving unsafe.

There are fines of up to Rs 75,000 and imprisonment of up to 8 years for driving under the influence of drugs. Because drug-driving law and enforcement can change, readers should verify the current position with the relevant Mauritian authorities before relying on a specific penalty.

Drug Driving informational video
International perspective

Different legal limits. Same human vulnerability.

Mauritius has a much lower prescribed blood-alcohol limit than England and France. That does not mean the higher limits elsewhere are “safe drinking levels”. Legal thresholds are not targets.

🇲🇺 Mauritius

20
mg / 100 ml blood

Breath: 9 µg / 100 ml
Urine: 27 mg / 100 ml

🇬🇧 England & Wales

80
mg / 100 ml blood

Breath: 35 µg / 100 ml
Urine: 107 mg / 100 ml

🇫🇷 France

50
mg / 100 ml blood

Breath: 0.25 mg / litre for the general limit
Probationary drivers: 0.2 g/l blood

England's blood limit is 4× Mauritius' limit.

France's general limit is 2.5× Mauritius' limit. A visitor who is accustomed to another country's law must not assume that the same threshold applies in Mauritius.

The safest number is still zero.

It is impossible to calculate exactly how many drinks correspond to the legal limit because alcohol affects people differently.

Infographic comparing drink-driving blood alcohol limits in Mauritius, England and Wales, and France, with the message that alcohol and driving do not mix.

Comparison sources: Road Traffic Act - Mauritius; GOV.UK drink-drive limit; French Service-Public / Road Safety information. Always check the current law of the country where driving takes place.

Where would you stand?

Pick a jurisdiction, an approximate body weight and the drinks consumed, using the reference servings below, and see whether the estimate crosses the legal limit.

Reference standard drink servings: 105 ml of wine at 12%, 30 ml of whiskey at 40%, and 300 ml of beer at 5%, each treated as one standard drink.

Each row below uses the serving size and strength shown in this reference image as one standard drink.

Wine105 ml · 12%
0
Whiskey30 ml · 40%
0
Beer300 ml · 5%
0

Optional. The body clears alcohol at roughly one standard drink per hour (15 mg/100mL per hour)— this only nudges the estimate, it doesn't guarantee anything.

🥤 Add a drink above to see an estimate.
Blood alcohol0.0 mg/100ml
Breath alcohol0.0 µg/100ml

This is an educational estimate only, built from average absorption assumptions (Widmark method) calibrated against typical reference tables. It cannot account for food, medication, individual metabolism or physiology, and it is not a breathalyser. It must never be used to decide whether it's safe to drive. The legal limit is not a safe limit — the only certain way to stay under any of them is not to drink before driving.

Two messages every visitor should know.

Especially important for people driving in Mauritius after travelling from countries with different drink-driving thresholds.

🇲🇺 Driving in Mauritius?

Do not use a foreign legal limit as a reference.

If driving in Mauritius, Mauritian law applies. The prescribed blood limit is 20 mg/100 ml, substantially below England & Wales (80 mg/100 ml) and France's general limit (50 mg/100 ml).

🍷 Planning to drink?

Plan the journey before the first drink.

Choose a sober driver, taxi or another safe way home. Do not wait until after drinking to decide whether you are “fit enough” to drive.

The road-safety conclusion

The legal limit is not the safe limit.

Don't drink and drive. Don't drink and ride. A moment of impaired judgement can produce consequences that last a lifetime.

What about getting back on the road?

The consequences do not necessarily end with the conviction. Licence disqualification and rehabilitation can affect when and how a driver returns to lawful driving.

Mandatory rehabilitation and licence reinstatement

For additional information about rehabilitation following licence suspension or disqualification, please contact MITD's Professional Drivers Training Centre on 664 0046/48 | Email: pdtcregistry@mitd.mu | Facebook

A rehabilitation course is not a substitute for personal responsibility.

The purpose of rehabilitation is to address risky behaviour and help reduce the likelihood of repeat offending. The safest outcome remains preventing the offence in the first place.

Additional info on our main page

Questions people actually ask.

Short answers designed for quick scanning on mobile and for clearer search understanding.

What is the drink-driving blood limit in Mauritius?

The prescribed limit published by the Mauritius Police Force is 20 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 ml of blood. The breath limit is 9 microgrammes per 100 ml.

Can I calculate how many drinks are safe before driving?

No reliable number of drinks can guarantee that a person will remain below a legal threshold or be unimpaired. Alcohol affects people differently. The safest choice when driving is not to drink.

Is Mauritius' drink-driving limit lower than England's?

Yes. Mauritius' blood limit is 20 mg/100 ml, compared with 80 mg/100 ml in England and Wales. England's limit is therefore four times Mauritius' blood limit.

What is France's general drink-driving limit?

France's general limit is 0.5 g/l of blood (50 mg/100 ml), equivalent to 0.25 mg/l of exhaled air. A stricter 0.2 g/l limit applies to probationary and certain other drivers.

Does being below the legal limit mean I am safe to drive?

No. A legal threshold should not be treated as a target. Alcohol can impair skills needed for safe driving, and there is no universal amount that guarantees a driver is unimpaired.

Official sources.

For legal decisions, use current official sources rather than relying on a third-party road-safety webpage.