When you are suspected of drink driving, you will be subject to either a breath, blood or urine test. This test measures the amount of alcohol present in your system, and will determine whether you are over any of the following legal limits:

• Breath: Maximum of 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath
• Blood: Maximum of 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100ml of blood
• Urine: Maximum of 107 milligrams of alcohol in 100ml of urine

The penalty for drink driving depends on the specific situation but could be from a fine and 10 penalty points on your driver's licence to a maximum of 6 weeks in prison and a disqualification from driving. When charging someone with a Drunk in Charge offence, the police take into consideration your distance from the vehicle and what you were doing at the time, as well as whether you had the ignition key, and any other evidence as to if and when you were likely to drive the vehicle. A statutory defence may be available if you did not intend to drive the car again until you were under the legal limit.

If you have been convicted of a drink driving offence, it is likely you may suffer potential additional consequences such as:

• An increase in car insurance
• Possible difficulty travelling overseas due to a criminal record
• Your conviction being made visible to your employers and impacting on your contract of employment

Due to the serious repercussions of drink driving cases, it is imperative you seek the help of a suitably experienced solicitor as soon as possible. We can assist you in obtaining the best possible outcome for your case.

If you are charged with drink driving, the court is obliged to put an endorsement on your driving licence which will remain on your licence for 11 years after the time of conviction.

Although the breathalyser devices used by the police are type approved by the home office, they can be challenged. Evidence as to how much a person  had consumed and the use of an expert to confirm if the reading is reliable (given the persons account of intake,) can be used to challenge the evidence. The expert will provide a calculation bearing in mind all the factors available as to the likely reading in blood and breath (known as a Widmark calculation). The Widmark calculation may then be used as the basis to challenge the breathalyser.

The law states that it is illegal to be in control of a vehicle whilst over the legal alcohol limit. In some cases the police cannot prove that you were driving a vehicle, or intended to, whilst under the influence of alcohol (for example if you’d gotten out before they arrived). However it is possible to prove that you were in control of it if you had retained the keys.

The penalty for drink driving depends on the specific situation but could be from a fine and 10 penalty points on your driver's licence to a maximum of 6 weeks in prison and a disqualification from driving. When charging someone with a Drunk in Charge offence, the police take into consideration your distance from the vehicle and what you were doing at the time, as well as whether you had the ignition key, and any other evidence as to if and when you were likely to drive the vehicle, a statutory defence may be available if you did not intend to drive the car again until you were under the legal limit.

The charge of failing to provide a specimen is only made out if a person does not have a reasonable excuse for failing to provide.  What may amount to a reasonable excuse depends on the facts of the particular case. Some of the most common reasonable excuses are medical defences, these may include respiratory conditions where a person attempted to provide a specimen but has been unable to do so, additionally a mental health condition such as anxiety or panic attack may provide a defence.  There can be other factors that may provide a reasonable excuse that includes whether or not the police have followed the guidance in the MGDD form, it could be that the quality of the instructions provided by the officer, or a lack of training may be a reasonable excuse. The above list is not exhaustive but there are many cases where a reasonable excuse can be advanced, from the initial conversation we will of advise you if there is a potential defence of reasonable excuse.

If you have been charged with a drink driving offence you will have the option to plead not guilty and proceed to trial.  You may not be able to see a way of defending the case and think that you appear guilty but it is always worth taking advice to see if any of the available defences apply to your case and circumstances.  As mentioned there is a very strict statutory regime in place that the police must follow in such cases and we can advise you if the procedure and law has in fact been complied with.

The area of law that covers motoring offences is quite complex and we have developed knowledge in this area over many combined decades of practice in this area. For this reason is it important to appoint a professional for advice and representation.

A police officer does not have to be in uniform to request a breath test. However he does have to be in uniform to administer it unless it follows an accident.

A police officer will request a breath test under the following circumstances:

• He has reasonable cause to suspect you are committing or have committed a moving traffic offence.
• He has reason to suspect that you are driving after having consumed alcohol, or you are about to attempt to drive the vehicle.
• He has reason to believe you were the person who was driving/attempting to drive or in charge of a vehicle which has been involved in an accident.

The police officer will ask you to provide two breath samples. If the readings are different he is obliged to take the lowest one and ignore the higher. If your reading is above the legal limit, you will be charged for committing an offence.

Very specific protocols have to be followed when the police carry out a breath test, and you should not be found guilty of an offence where the police have breached those rules.