should you be charged with drink driving?
According to the Department for Transport, drinking and driving on British roads claimed
around 14,020 casualties in 2007, of which 410 resulted in
fatalities. Unfortunately, these sobering statistics do not prevent
thousands of motorists in the UK committing drink driving offences
every year. If you happen to be charged with a drink driving
offence, you face the prospect of a criminal conviction, driving
ban, substantially higher insurance premiums and community service.
You may even receive a custodial sentence.
You should be aware that, in the process of charging a person
with a drink driving offence, the police are required to follow
strict procedures; failure to abide by these procedures may result
in a case being thrown out by the court, as any evidence gathered
would probably become inadmissible. First, it is crucial to note
that the police are entitled to pull you over at the side of a road
or approach you in any public or private place for whatever reason
– do not attempt to evade them.
After the police have pulled over a vehicle, in accordance with
section 6 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, a breath test can only be
administered by a uniformed police officer where he or she has
reasonable cause to suspect that the person driving (or attempting
to drive or in charge of the motor vehicle) has 'alcohol in his
body or has committed a traffic offence whilst the vehicle was in
motion'. Although difficult to contest in court, this provision
demands that an officer of the law did not arbitrarily administer a
breath test.
The police have additional powers to pursue any person who is
suspected of carrying out a traffic offence whilst under the
influence of alcohol, so it is no defence to hide from the police.
Failure to provide a specimen of breath when required to do so is
an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and would result in your
arrest, whereupon tests would be administered at the police
station. The police must also adhere to procedures at the station,
so you should always seek legal advice as soon as possible to
ensure that your legal rights are maintained.
In the event that an instance of drink driving results in a
conviction at court, a driving disqualification will be imposed for
a minimum term of 12 months. The court will also issue you with a
fine, order you to carry out community service or, in extreme
cases, impose a prison sentence of up to six months (unless a more
serious offence has been committed).
The right legal representation can help at every stage of this
process, from ensuring that the police do their job correctly to
putting forward mitigating circumstances to the court; it can also
make the difference between a fine and community service. Finally,
it is advisable that a drink driving rehabilitation course is
completed, as this may prompt the court to reduce the length of any
disqualification by up to a quarter.
The Motoring Offences team at Blake Lapthorn is a
group of specialist motoring lawyers with many years of experience
representing clients charged with drink driving in courts across
England and Wales. We are on hand to help you should you be charged
with drink driving.
View further information on drink
driving offences.
See our article on Sir Peter North's recent
review of drink-drive limits (18 June 2010).
