Drink Driving Solicitors in Essex – Get Immediate Legal Advice

The limits for drink-driving in England and Wales are as follows:

• Breath – 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
• Blood – 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
• Urine – 107 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine.

The thresholds in Scotland are stricter, enforced at 22, 50 and 67, respectively.

There are four different kinds of offences of this type:

• Driving whilst unfit – Driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs is often applied when drug use is suspected, but there is no laboratory specimen confirming exactly what the reading is.
• Driving with excess alcohol – Driving with alcohol above the prescribed limit, whether it is breath, blood or urine.
• Failing to provide laboratory specimens – Failing to provide a breath, blood or urine sample when asked by the officer without a reasonable excuse.
• Being in charge of a motor vehicle with excess alcohol – When someone who has greater than the prescribed limit of alcohol in their body and at the time of being discovered by the police, they are inside the vehicle or in some way in charge of the vehicle.

The statutory defence for being in charge of a motor vehicle with excess alcohol is proving to the court that you would not have driven while you were still in excess of the limit.

You cannot refuse a roadside breath test without a “reasonable excuse”. For instance, you may not be able to blow into the device due to a medical inability, such as severe asthma.

If you refuse or fail a roadside test, the police officer will arrest you. Evidence of your alcohol level will then be gathered at the police station, via a breath, blood or urine specimen.

The penalty you will receive is decided by the magistrates who hear your case and depends on your offence. The three types of consequences for this offence are driving bans, fines and imprisonment.

Driving disqualification

The minimum penalty for a first-time offence is one year’s disqualification.

A second-time offence within 10 years will incur a minimum disqualification of three years.

Minimum disqualification periods are reserved for those at the bottom end of the scale of offences. Therefore, if you are double the limit or involved in a collision, you are likely to receive a longer disqualification.

There is no maximum disqualification period.

Financial penalties

There is no maximum fine if you are caught drink-driving (it is unlimited).

Imprisonment

The maximum sentence for individuals caught driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is six months.

Defences for drinking-driving are usually split into two categories – defences and special reasons.

A defence aims to challenge the offence to reach a “not guilty” verdict.

A special reason is a mitigating factor directly related to the offence intended to minimise the penalty, but it will not act as a defence under the law.

Examples of defences

• Post-driving consumption of alcohol
• Duress by threats
• Not being in control of the vehicle
• Procedural errors by the police

Examples of special reasons

• Someone spiked your drink
• Shortness of distance driving (for example, moving the vehicle a few meters, but no further).
• An emergency situation

A special reason will only be heard in cases where the defendant has already pleaded guilty or has been found guilty.