KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
In this month’s addition we focus on the topic of drink driving. I’m sure most would agree with disqualifications for those who drink then intentionally drive, putting their life and others at risk. But with a lot of prosecutions that’s not always the case. Many people accidentally commit an offence, the consequences of which can be grave - drink driving carries a minimum 12-month disqualifi- cation, potentially longer depending on the reading, and in serious cases community orders or prison.
Below we outline different ways in which offences can be committed and give advice on how to avoid committing them.
If you need help on motoring matters please email
e.patterson@
pattersonlaw.co.uk or for free legal advice call 01626 359800.
THE MORNING AFTER Q A
I went for drinks with friends on Sunday. I was working Monday morning so stopped drinking at 1am. I have school runs so was up early on Monday. The police pulled me over as I was
swerving. I failed the roadside test as I blew 68. At the police station I blew 46 and 47 and now I’m due in court. I felt fine to drive and can’t believe I’ve done this. Can I plead exceptional hardship and keep my licence?
For that reading you will be looking at a minimum 12-month disqualification, although you would be given the option to complete a
drink-drive rehabilitation course to reduce the disqualification by 1/4. The law does not allow for people being caught the morning after. If you’re over the limit, you’re over the limit, regardless of the time of day. Similarly, hardship arguments do not apply to drink-driving cases. If you plead guilty you will be banned regardless of the hardship caused. A reading of 68 would usually put you at risk of a 17-22 month ban, but the court will consider the readings at the police station rather than the one at the roadside, so this will be 12-16 months - likely 12. The only way to avoid a disqualification would be to plead not guilty and defend the charge – but on the face of it there is no obvious defence so you would be fishing for a technicality. If you enter a not guilty plea and you lose, you will receive considerably higher fines and costs, and potentially a longer disqualification.
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OUR ADVICE: Never to try to count units and work out when you’ll be below the limit. Everyone metabolises alcohol at different rates depending on height, weight, sex, what you’ve had to eat, medication. If you’re unsure if you’re going to be below the limit, it’s better to be safe than sorry and leave it an extra few hours.
I WAS DRINKING AFTER I STOPPED DRIVING Q
I’m due in the Magistrates’ Court in September. I’m an Uber driver so I have to drive. It happened in August as I was finishing my shift. A motorbike overtook me and pulled right in
front of me. I was angry and I beeped my horn and revved my engine. He stopped, shouted at me banged on my window. He said he was going to call the police. I was very scared and shaken up. I drove home and had a few large whiskies to calm my nerves. The police turned up at my house an hour later and I had a whisky in my hand, yet they still breathalysed me and accused me of drink-driving. I was arrested and taken to the police station. I told them that I had been drinking at home but they wouldn’t listen. I blew 62. Yes, I was over the limit, but can they even do that if they didn’t catch me drunk behind the wheel?
A
Yes they can. Under section 15 Road Traffic Offenders Act, police can assume the amount of alcohol in your body at the time you gave the breath sample was at least that at the time you
drove. So they can assume you were drink-driving, even though they didn’t catch you behind the wheel. But it is a defence to drink-driving if we can show: 1) You drank alcohol after you stopped driving, and 2) You were only above the limit because of this alcohol. It is commonly known as a ‘hip flask’ defence. The burden is on us as the defence to prove it, so we will need evidence to help us. We can certainly ask for a copy of the police footage from the arrest which should show you with a whisky in your hand, but have you got anybody in the house that can corroborate the fact you were drinking? To prove the second point we may need an expert toxicologist report to work out how much whisky you had and whether you would have been below the limit without it. You will need to enter a not guilty plea at the hearing and get the case listed for trial. We’ll then have a few months to prepare for the trial itself.
OUR ADVICE: If you are involved in any form of traffic incident, whether it be an altercation or a minor
NOVEMBER 2023 PHTM
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