Drink Driving
The offence of drink driving (or driving over the prescribed limit / with excess alcohol) is set out in section 5 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The law states “if you drive or attempt to drive (or are in charge of) a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, and; that you do so after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in your breath, blood or urine exceeds the prescribed limit”.
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Drink driving limits:
35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
107 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine.
If you have been stopped by the police and are suspected of drink driving, it is likely that you will be breathalysed at the roadside. If you fail the roadside breath test, you will be arrested and taken to the police station. The roadside breath test is only used to confirm the police officer’s reasonable suspicion that you were driving whilst over the limit, it cannot be used as evidence of your drink driving. An evidential reading will be requested at the police station where you will provide two samples of breath, and the lowest reading provided will be taken as the level of alcohol in your breath. If there is a legitimate reason why breath cannot be provided, you will be asked for blood or urine. You cannot choose which sample you give.
Drink driving carries a mandatory driving disqualification of at least 12 months. Being drunk in charge is a less serious offence but it still carries the risk of a disqualification. Examples of being drunk in charge, are being sat in a stationary motor vehicle with the engine off, sleeping in the car, or walking towards the car with the keys in your possession. Typically, it is any situation in which you have control of a vehicle, and there is a reasonable prospect that you will drive it.
Drink Drive Rehabilitation Courses
If you are disqualified from driving for 12 months or more, the court may offer you the drink-drive rehabilitation course. If you complete this successfully, it will reduce your disqualification by 25%. We will make expert representations on your behalf giving you the best possible chance of securing the course.
Sentences
This offence can only be dealt with in the Magistrates Court. If driving or attempting to drive – a disqualification of at least 12 months and up to 6 months imprisonment and or a fine.
If in charge – 10 penalty points on your driving licence, or a disqualification in more serious cases (usually of up to 12 months), and up to 3 months imprisonment and or a fine.
Defences
Defences to this offence are often factual. It can be a defence for you to show that the drink driving procedure was flawed or, the alcohol reading provided was incorrect. Many of these are technical defences which will require the instruction of Experts. Another defence is that you consumed alcohol after driving and this rendered you over the limit, also known as the hipflask defence.
Whilst strictly speaking not a defence, you may have a ‘Special Reason’ which if proven at Court, allows the court a discretion not to impose penalty points or a driving disqualification. There are many types of Special Reasons, for example, your drinks may have been spiked with alcohol, you drove in an emergency, or drove a very short distance. Special Reasons are covered separately on our website, please take a look for further details and contact us to discuss.
If you are being investigated or prosecuted for any motoring law / road traffic offence, please get in touch with our motoring law specialists.