DRINK DRIVING - Know your law! Save your licence, your job, livelihood and your family!

The fact is that being convicted of drink/drug driving means you will lose your licence and this can ruin your life, your job and your family.  It is important that you are equipped to deal with the law when you are met with the situation and this article gives you some knowledge which will prove very useful if you find yourself in this unfortunate situation.

The truth is there is no guidance I can give you about the quantity of drink you can have before exceeding the limit.  Home measures of alcohol vary considerably as well as the strengths of different types of drinks.  The amount you drink is not the only measure as your alcohol content will vary depending on your height, weight and waist size and also dependant on what you have eaten and when.

The advice for dealing with the police if stopped is to co-operate fully and comply with any requests they make even if you think the request is unjustified. If you don’t it will result in your arrest for failing to supply a roadside specimen and if positive at the police station you will be facing two charges instead of one.

If you are not driving your vehicle but are sat inside or are close by with the keys you could still face prosecution for being “in charge” of a vehicle with excess alcohol.  You cannot insist that you were not driving and therefore do not have to supply samples as the police are within their rights to request samples and refusal will lead to charges for failing to supply a sample either at the roadside or for analysis at the police station. It is always better to stay quiet and just follow instructions rather than try to make excuses because the officer is not interested and will just continue with the procedure.

The penalty for failing to provide a roadside breath test is £1,000, 4 penalty points and a discretionary disqualification.

What happens at the police station?

At the police station you will be asked to supply two specimens of breath and again you should just comply because if not you will be charged in any event with failing to supply a specimen for analysis which could carry greater sentence than if you supplied, particularly if you are borderline.

The current drink drive limits are as follows:-

·         35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 ml of breath 

·         80mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood 

·         107mg of alcohol in 100 ml of urine 

If you blow between 35mg and 50mg you will be given the option of providing a sample of blood or urine. The decision as to whether it is blood or urine is supplied is a matter for the officer.  It is then that analysis upon which the decision to prosecute is made. If you have a medical reason which make it impossible for you supply the specimen of breath you MUST inform the police straight away as they may have charge you with failing to supply if you do not say anything.  If you have a medical reason they will ask you supply an alternative specimen which would be either blood or urine.

You are entitled to legal advice at the police station but the police do not have to delay the procedure for you to make contact with a solicitor.  The advice any solicitor would give is to follow the procedure and co-operate fully, if there are any issues these can be sorted out at a later date.

The penalties are as follows: - Level 5 - £5,000 max – 6 months imprisonment – Disqualification min 12months.

Breath level

Blood Level

Urine Level

Fine/Sentence starting point

Range

Disqualification

36 – 59

81 – 137

108 – 183

Fine Band C

Fine Band C

12 – 16 months

60 – 89

138 – 206

184 – 274

Fine Band C

Fine Band C

17 – 22 months

90 – 119

207 – 275

275 – 366

Medium level

community

order

Low level

community

order to high

level community

order

23 – 28 months

120 – 150

and above

276 – 345

and above

367 – 459

and above

12 weeks

custody

High level

community

order to 26

weeks custody

29 – 36 months

If you have been convicted of a drink driving offence before you will face a disqualification of at least 3 years but there are added considerations as follows:-

1.       Loss of your job

2.   The possibility of taking medical examinations before you can drive again;

3. Attendance on a drink driver rehabilitation course (which can reduce the period of disqualification but has to be offered to you by the Magistrates at the time of sentence and it will cost you £135-£250).

4.       A possible prison sentence if very high or repeat offender.

5.       Visa restrictions

6.       A criminal record

7.       Huge increases in insurance fees.

This area of law is fraught with pitfalls and options as you will be entitled to the advice of a solicitor you should contact one at the earliest opportunity. The police will usually accommodate this but do not have to delay the procedure to enable you to do so.

It is possible to defend the charge if for example you can establish that you were not driving, or it was not a public place/road.  Some people may have drank after driving prior to giving the specimen and we can establish from expert evidence whether you would have exceeded the limit at the point of driving.  It may also be possible to show that the reading /analysis is unreliable as often procedures are not followed or equipment is fault.

If you accept that you are guilty of driving with excess alcohol you may be able to avoid a disqualification by arguing that special reasons apply in your case.

Examples of special reasons are:-

·         Laced drinks

• Short distance driven
• Emergency/Necessity

This is an area of law riddled with case law on what amounts to a special reason and it is always preferable to seek the advice of a road traffic specialist.

Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS but don‘t get merry and drive.

SEASONAL WISHES TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS FROM AURIGA ADVOCATES.