KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
In this month’s edition, we focus on the offence of ‘being in charge of a vehicle whilst drunk’.
Most of us know that it’s illegal to drink and drive, but did you know that it can also be illegal just to be standing near your car whilst drunk?
SENTENCES
It’s a serious offence which carries a minimum 10 points or a disqualification on conviction, and in very serious cases, community orders or even prison. The exact sentence you could receive depends on the reading:
And it’s important to remember that in both cases, the defendant is only “in charge” of the car if it is on a road or other public place.
Example – Case 1
Mr X drives to the pub at 7pm and leaves his car in the car park. He and his friends pre-book a taxi for 11pm to go home. He is planning on collecting the car the following morning.
They have numerous alcoholic drinks. Just as the taxi arrives at 11pm, Mr X goes to his car to collect something. He has no intention of driving as the taxi is pulling up. However, he is seen by an officer rooting in his glove box and is arrested for being drunk whilst in charge of his car. He gives a reading of 70ug in breath (twice the legal limit).
Incredibly, even though he obviously wasn’t going to drive Mr X would be charged and taken to court for being ‘drunk whilst in charge of a car’. He’s above the
But what does being “in charge” of a car mean?
The law under section 5 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 simply states that: “if a person … is in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place… after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath, blood or urine exceeds the prescribed limit he is guilty of an offence”, but it stops short of actually defining exactly what “in charge” means.
The best definition comes from DPP v Watkins [1989] where the Divisional Court stressed there could be no hard and fast test, but there were broadly two classes of case:
1) If the defendant was the owner or had recently driven the vehicle, the question would be whether he had relinquished charge or placed the vehicle in someone else’s charge.
2) If the defendant was not the owner, the question is whether he had assumed charge of it, e.g. if he had gained entry, had taken the keys, if he was in the vehicle, how far he was from it, what he was doing with it at the time, whether there was an intention to take control of the car.
70
limit, he’s in a public place (even though it’s a private car park, the pub was still open so would be deemed a ‘public place’) and he had the keys on him. He had not relinquished charge. So the only way to defend this matter would be to argue that there was no likelihood of his driving the car whilst above the limit (explained in more detail below).
Example – Case 2
Mrs Y is at home on her own. Her partner has taken their car. She drinks a bottle of wine. Her partner drives home late and drunk. An argument ensues and the neighbours call the police. Upon arrival, the police see both Mrs Y and her partner outside of the house and standing by the car. The partner is arrested for drink driving, and she is arrested for being drunk whilst in charge of a car.
Here, there would be a strong argument to say that she was not in charge of the car. She is not the owner and so it is not assumed she would have charge of it. The partner had the keys and possession of the car, and at no point did the partner pass the keys to her, so she never assumed control of it.
FEBRUARY 2025 PHTM
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