Excess alcohol / Driving while unfit

Any person convicted of driving with excess alcohol or driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs faces automatic disqualification and, in serious cases, may even risk imprisonment.

For these reasons, specialist advice at the earliest opportunity is essential.

If you have been charged with driving with excess alcohol, the Prosecution will have to prove that you were driving with excess alcohol in your breath, urine or blood. The present drink drive limits are as follows:

• 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 ml of breath
• 80mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood
• 107mg of alcohol in 100 ml of urine

When a police officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that a person is driving with excess alcohol he can require that person to perform a roadside breath test. If this provides a positive reading the driver will be arrested and taken to a police station where a further “evidential test” is required.

A refusal to provide a specimen without reasonable grounds is a separate offence. [failure to provide a specimen]

There are a number of devices presently used by the police to provide alcohol reading. The most common machines used are the Lion Intoxilyzer 6000 UK and the Intoximter EC/IR . There are complex and technical rules governing the correct operation of every machine and any police officer using the machine must have the appropriate training. If the correct procedure is not adhered to, it may be impossible for the prosecution to rely upon the reading in court and you would be found not guilty.

Geoffrey Miller Solicitors offer a priority investigative option to all clients facing prosecution for alcohol related offences due to their severity and the fact that the courts tend to process alcohol related prosecutions very quickly. You may be unsure if you have a defence based on the facts of your case or if you have a defence due to a procedural technicality. Our team of lawyers, who are amongst the country’s leading experts in this field, will consider the evidence in your case and take your full statement before providing you with our views of the merits of defending a prosecution or pleading guilty. We will do this for a relatively low fixed fee so that you do not have to commit to spending significant fees in order to see if there is any way of defending the prosecution.

Avoiding disqualification

Driving whilst unfit and driving with excess alcohol carry a compulsory disqualification unless 'special reasons' arise. These may arise if the vehicle was only driven in circumstances of emergency, for example to take someone to hospital when no other alternative was available. It may also arise if a person drove after having their drink 'laced'.

Geoffrey Miller Solicitors can advise you as to whether 'special reasons' arise in your case and can assist you to prove such 'special reasons' in court. Where such reasons are found to exist, disqualification can be avoided.

Geoffrey Miller Solicitors can also offer representation with a view to keeping your disqualification to a minimum.

The court now has a discretion to offer anyone convicted of a drink driving offence the opportunity to attend the Drink Drivers Rehabilitation Course. Successful completion of this course can result in a 25% reduction of the length of the ban.

Punishment

A fine of up to £5000, up to 6 months imprisonment and mandatory disqualification for a minimum period of a year.

(Where the driver has a previous conviction for an alcohol related offence within the last 10 years the minimum disqualification is 3 years.)

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