Within our crime department, our solicitors are well equipped with extensive knowledge of motoring offences to assist our clients on a daily basis. It is becoming increasingly common that clients approach us for advice regarding drink driving, whether that be for an appointment in the office or representation at Court if they have been charged with the offence.
It is an offence for an individual to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle whilst under the influence of alcohol. In order for the prosecution to prove this offence, a sample of breath is required. If you are pulled over by a police officer and they suspect that you are drink driving, they will ask you to provide a roadside sample as an initial test. If this test comes back positive, you will be arrested and taken to the nearest police station whereby you will asked to provide a further sample of breath, blood or urine which is deemed as the evidential sample. If the second sample also comes back as over the limit, you will be charged with excess alcohol and will be required to attend Court.
If you plead guilty to this offence, the Court are required impose a mandatory disqualification period which is a minimum of 12 months and can increase depending on the result of your evidential sample. The higher the result, the longer the disqualification period will be. The Court are also required to consider additional sentencing options that range from a financial penalty to up to 26 weeks imprisonment depending on the result of your evidential sample.
The current UK drink drive limit in England and Wales is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath. However, the government have recently proposed major reforms to make the roads in England and Wales safer. This is particularly due to the number of deaths caused on the roads which has generally declined over time since the 1970s. Although this has not yet been confirmed, the government are seeking to lower the drink-drive limit to 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml in breath which is significantly lower than the current drink drive limit. If this proposal were to enforced, this will have an effect on the laws and regulations surrounding drink driving (excess alcohol) which will have an impact on future Court proceedings.
Should you require assistance regarding any of the above, please reach out to our Crime team who are here to help. Please contact us below or on 01702 338338.
