Driving with Excess Alcohol

A person convicted of driving with excess alcohol or driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs, will serve an automatic disqualification period of twelve months minimum and, in serious cases, may face imprisonment.

The Prosecution must be able to prove that you were driving the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence. They must also show that you had excess alcohol in your blood, urine or breath. The following limits apply in all drink driving cases:

• 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath;
• 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood;
• 107 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine

On the face of it the breath, blood or urine reading would seem conclusive but there may still be possible defences. We pride ourselves on our friendly and personable approach whilst always ensuring the highest quality of representation to secure the best possible results for our clients.

We will obtain a copy of the form the police use in such cases and go through the procedure step by step with you. Even if a defence does not emerge then there may be evidence to justify ‘special reasons’ for not disqualifying you.

Prosecutions for an alleged offence of driving with excess alcohol usually arise when a motorist has been stopped at the roadside by a police officer and has been required to comply with a roadside breath test. If you fail the test you will then be arrested and taken to a police station to provide a further evidential sample. This will usually be a sample of breath but, in certain circumstances, the police are permitted to take samples of blood or urine instead of, or, in addition to a sample of breath.

A healthcare professional must always take a sample of blood and the samples will be sent away for laboratory testing to establish the precise amount of alcohol within them.

If you fail to comply with a requirement to provide a sample at the police station this may result in prosecution for the separate offence of failure to provide a specimen .

Our team of lawyers are amongst the country’s leading experts in this field and we will consider the evidence with a fine toothcomb providing you with our advice on the merits of defending a prosecution or pleading guilty.

Improper Procedure
Strict procedural guidelines must be followed in all cases by virtue of The Road Traffic Act 1988 and The Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988. If the police have not followed those procedures then it is possible to argue that the Prosecution should fail, which will result in an acquittal.

Steps that the police must take are:

1. You must be warned that failure or refusal will render you liable to prosecution – s.7 (7) of The Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988;
2. You must be told that a reason for the request for blood or urine is that the machine is not available or not working – s.7 (3) (b) of The Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988;
3. You must be informed that you are entitled to a blood or urine test if the breath reading is under the 50 milligrams;
4. You must also be asked whether you have any medical objections to a sample of blood being provided and that the police do not further investigate this matter as this may result in an acquittal.

The ‘Hipflask’ Defence
This defence is available where a Defendant has stopped driving but consumed alcohol after that person has driven but before they were breath tested and therefore wish to argue that they were not over the limit at the time when they drove.

Breath Test Machine Malfunction
Sometimes the machines used by the police can produce false readings or malfunction. It is a matter for the Prosecution to prove that the machines have been properly calibrated. We can instruct experts to examine the device/mouthpiece and provide an opinion as to whether it malfunctioned.

Punishment of Driving with Excess Alcohol
If convicted you will receive a fine of up to £5000,up to six months imprisonment and disqualification for a minimum period of twelve months.

The minimum period of disqualification is three years where a motorist has a previous alcohol related offence within the past ten years.

In our experience the best way to discuss and consider any defence of your case is to telephone us on our freephone number 0800 32 888 46. Our telephones are manned by driving defence experts throughout the day, evening and weekends including bank and public holidays.

If you wish to contact us via e-mail, please complete the online enquiry form and we will contact you immediately.