Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2011/January 2012 | Page 32

Drink driving
with Lee Peckham at Roach Pittis

As we approach Christmas – a time
of year in which there is traditionally
an increase in drink driving and
certainly Police activity to detect drink
drivers, it pays to think about the law
relating to drinking and driving.
Drink driving carries a minimum
disqualification for a period of one
year. However, the disqualification is
linked directly to the alcohol reading,
which is normally in breath but can
be in blood or urine. The Sentencing
Guidelines suggest that when you are
marginally over the drink drive limit
(which is 35mcg of alcohol per 100ml
of breath), you will be in the range of
a disqualification for 12 to 16 months;
with a reading of 120mcg, the ban
would be in the region of 29 months
to 3 years.
A second drink drive conviction

within 10 years will lead to an
automatic ban for a minimum of 3
years, regardless of the readings.
In terms of the penalty imposed by
the Court, a reading near the legal
limit is likely to result in a fine; a
reading of 120mcg or above is likely to
result in a prison sentence of up to 6
months.
Some common misconceptions about
drink driving:
• You do not have a right to provide
a blood or urine sample unless your
reading is 50mcg in breath or below.
• You must provide a breath specimen
when requested to do so unless you
have a very good reason not to – there
are very few defences to this charge.
A failure to provide a specimen will
often result in you being treated by the
Court more harshly than if you had

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32

been convicted of drink driving. It is
NOT a defence to failing to provide
a specimen to say that you were not
driving the vehicle.
• If you have had a drink of alcohol
after you have finished driving so that
you were not over the limit at the time
of driving, it is for you to prove it.
The Prosecution only has to prove that
you were driving and that you were
over the limit when breath tested (the
law assumes that your breath reading
was your level of intoxication at the
time of driving). You must then prove
that at the time of driving, it is more
probable than not that you were under
the limit. In practice this is extremely
difficult to do and nearly always
requires expert witness evidence.
• If you are sitting in a stationary car
with the engine off, whilst over the
limit, the Police will be well within
their rights to arrest you for being
drunk in charge of a vehicle. It may
then be difficult and expensive to
prove that you had no intention of
driving the vehicle.
So the bottom line is enjoy your
Christmas, but be careful to avoid
drinking and driving.
The above is but a brief overview
and you should only rely upon specific
advice given to you dependent upon
the facts of your case. If you find
yourself facing a prosecution then our
team at Roach Pittis would be pleased
to discuss your matter with you.