Drink Driving - Motoring Offence
Drink driving is legally defined as driving, attempting to drive or being in charge of a motor vehicle on the public highway or a public place, whilst under the influence of alcohol exceeding the prescribed limit. "Being in charge" refers to when you are not driving a vehicle, but are in the vehicle on the public highway or public place, even if you do not have the keys to the vehicle. A conviction for the motoring offence of drink driving can cause great amount of distress and sometimes have disastrous results.
The prescribed limits for drink drive are:
- 35 micrograms per 100 ml breath
- 80 mg of alcohol in 100 ml blood
- 107 mg of alcohol in 100 ml urine
A police officer in uniform may request you to provide a roadside breath test if he suspects you to be driving with excess alcohol. And refusal to provide a specimen without reasonable grounds is a separate offence. If your breath specimen gives a reading of 39 micrograms or less then you should be released either without charge or with a caution. If the reading is between 40-50 micrograms then you must be given an option of providing an alternative specimen of either blood or urine. If the police fail to provide you with this option then you have a possible defence against the charge of motoring offence of drink driving . You should always take the option to provide the alternative specimen. If your reading is above 85 micrograms then you are likely to be given community penalty such as curfew, unpaid work, supervision, etc. If the reading is above 115 micrograms or if you have a history of drink driving then you are likely to be given prison sentence.
If you are going to be charged for the motoring offence of drink driving then the charge will be read out to you and you will be cautioned that anything that you say may be later used against you in evidence. Then you will be asked to sign the Charge Sheet and a copy will be given to you. You will usually be bailed to attend court on a specified date but you will not be allowed to drive from the police station.
"Special Reasons" may apply in order to avoid disqualification due to the motoring offence of drink driving in your particular case, such as in emergency situation or if your drink had been "laced". In the absence of "special reasoning" you would face a minimum ban of 12 months even if you are just over the limit and a lot longer the higher the reading. Often the Prosecution will make procedural errors resulting in acquittal, such as not providing a warning that failure to provide a specimen may result in an acquittal. Sometimes, even the reliability of a particular device used by the police can be challenged by experts known to us.
The legislation of drink driving motoring offence is very complex and technical, and Defend My Licence strongly recommend that you take only professional legal advice, as soon as possible. In many cases of drink driving a defence is only possible with expert scientific evidence, and we at Defend My Licence know what evidence is needed and who to go to!
Penalties:
Drink Driving Motoring Offence:
- Driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol - Minimum ban of 12 months, a fine up to £5000 and possible community or prison sentence up to 6 months. The court must disqualify for 36 months for a further offence of drink driving within 10 years.
- Being in charge of a vehicle with excess alcohol - 10 penalty points on your driving licence, discretionary disqualification, fine up to £5000 and possible imprisonment of 3 months.
- Failing to provide roadside breath test - 4 penalty points on your driving licence, discretionary disqualification and fine up to £1000.
Defend yourself against the motoring offence of Drink Driving. Click here to get EXPERT advice from Defend My Licence.
