Boyfriend caught drink driving.

[shiney123]

Hi,

I am not sure if I can post this here. But I only know this forum with real knowledgeable people. Sorry if it is not related. Please Can you direct me to anything related if its not real vent here?

 

My boyfriend was caught drink driving. He blew 42 when he is pulled over and in the station it is 46.

 

So they took a blood sample and was asked to come back on jan 22nd. The police also said if he is convicted he will get a court notice in the mean time.

 

What should we expect now? should we get a solicitor? He is meaning to plead guilty but the police who came to drop him off told it may not go to the court as it is just above the limit.

 

So not sure what to do now. Can anyone please tell me what to do?

Edited December 17, 2012 by citizenB
formatting

[ims21]

Thread moved to Motoring Offences forum

[padja]

get a solicitor,

it will be a one year ban,

the limit is 35mg so he was over by a lot not borderline.

the blood limit is 80mg.

 

so he will get a 12 month ban a fine of up to £5000 and he could get 6 months in prison.

 

I personally would do all three if I was a magistrate.

 

he will get a a chance to reduce ban with drive aware course

 

I suggest he takes that option up.

 

Also he should be aware that when banned the police will be looking for him if he is tempted to drive again.

[shiney123]

Thread moved to Motoring Offences forum

 

Thank you

[shiney123]

get a solicitor, it will be a one year ban, the limit is 35mg so he was over by a lot not borderline. the blood limit is 80mg. so he will get a 12 month ban a fine of up to £5000 and he could get 6 months in prison. I personally would do all three if I was a magistrate. he will get a a chance to reduce ban with drive aware course I suggest he takes that option up. Also he should be aware that when banned the police will be looking for him if he is tempted to drive again.

 

Ok thank you. I ll tell him to get one. So should I tell him to get the blood sample he got tested as well?

[sailor sam]

Not sure why they took a blood sample if his lowest reading is 46.

 

They do not normally prosecute if the reading is not above 40 though.

 

Seems to me like they are giving him a second chance by doing a blood sample.

 

As far as I know, he should of been handed a sample for his own analyses. (A sample taken later will not be admissible).

 

He could be lucky and it could be under the limit.

 

Not sure a solicitor will help as if he is over,

 

he will get a mandatory 12 month ban plus a fine and costs.

 

It won't be no where near the maximum, more likely in the region of £300.

 

He well may be offered the opportunity to attend a rehab course which will reduce his ban by 3 months (assuming he is charged).

 

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek face to face professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[shiney123]

Thank you. Ya he did get a blood sample. But couldn't get it tested as my local chemist lab told they don't do the alcohol test.

[Aretnap]

They took a blood sample because of "the statutory option"

- if your breath reading is below 50 you have the right to ask for it to be discarded and a blood or urine specimen taken instead. See Road Traffic Act Section 8(2).

 

This is because the blood/urine test is deemed to be more accurate than a breath test.

 

Requesting it does have the advantage of giving you a bit more time for your alcohol levels to drop,

so if it took a while for the doctor to come out and take blood then he may just be lucky and the blood test will come back below 80.

 

If it does make sure he buys a lottery ticket sharpish - he'll obviously be on a run of luck.

 

As noted while the legal limit for breath is 35, a reading of 39 or below would not have seen him prosecuted due to the need to make an allowance for the machine's accuracy.

 

Blow 36-39 and you're generally given a bollocking and sent home (on foot).

 

However the breath reading is now irrelevant as a blood test has been taken and AFAIK there's no equivalent allowance for a blood test - the limit is 80,

and a reading of 81 will see him prosecuted and, if convicted, banned for at least a year.

 

He won't be going to prison if he's convicted - it will be a means-tested fine (around 150% of his weekly income, reduced by a third if he pleads guilty)

and a ban of 12-17 months, assuming the blood reading is roughly what would be expected from the breath test.

 

See the sentencing guidelines here on page 124. Prison tends to be reserved for repeat offenders, those WAY over the limit, and those who kill/injure while drunk.

 

Given that the blood sample is likely to be borderline it is probably worth a punt at getting it tested independently if he has the money.

 

A specialist road traffic solicitor will know how to go about doing this, if he decides to see one.

[shiney123]

Thank you aretnap.. Ya he says the blood test is taken after an hour and half.. I am just praying it comes below the limit..

I never knew 2 glasses of port wine has soo much effect..I don't drive so never thought wine is soo alcoholic..(

[Conniff]

Solicitors won't be needed if he intends to plead guilty. Save yourself some money.

[ericsbrother]

I would advise him to say and do nothing until he returns to the police station on the 22nd Jan.

 

In the meanwhile it may be worth asking when he had his last drink (relevant to kerbside testing)

and how much does he weigh as these will have an effect upon how fast the alcohol is processed by the body.

 

An hour and a half should be long enough to reduce the blood alcohol count to below the limit.

 

He may then need to argue against back calculating as being not applicable as he was compliant to the testing.

[shiney123]

Thank you

..he weighs 72kgs.

..he had his last drink just 30 mins prior to getting caught..

But it's a small glass of port wine..

What is back calculating?

 

And also I got a new doubt..

 

The breath analyser reading are 42 ,

45 in the police car and 46 in the station..

 

Which will be taken into acount?

[BazzaS]

Back calculating is calculating what the level at an earlier time would have been, from the actual level at a stated time

: used where a person deliberately "stalls for time" to allow the level to decrease.

 

The portable machines "at the roadside" give the police sufficient grounds to arrest,

but are not "evidential" machines : the reading from the roadside machine can be used to support why a person was taken to the station,

but not in place of the station based machine to determine guilt.

 

If a blood sample was taken because the validity of the breath sample was challenged,

then it is the blood sample level that would be considered to decide on any prosecution.

[shiney123]

Oh k..

Hope it comes below the limit. Because it will be my fault he is driving in the first place. Because I lost my grandad two days before and I asked him to come ASAP because my mom is in hysterics.

I ll be terribly alone if he is sent to jail.

[BazzaS]

The circumstances you describe wouldn't prevent a guilty verdict (if the blood test is above the limit).

However, they might be mitigation : If he was close to the limit (but above it) - I can't see them feeling a custodial sentence would be needed unless there were exacerbating factors (I take it he had no previous convictions for significant driving offences?)

[Aretnap]

As he's taken the statutory option (ie asked for a blood test), all the breath results are now irrelevant - the law says "if he then provides such a specimen, neither specimen of breath shall be used". It will be the blood test, and that alone, which decides whether he's prosecuted.

 

I'd guess that an hour and a half is probably enough for his blood alcohol level to have dropped below the legal limit, but the rate you metabolise alcohol at varies from person to person so there are no guarantees. Cross your fingers and hope.

 

A back calculation means getting an expert in to estimate what his alcohol level would have been at the time he was driving, through some calculations based on the reading provided, the time since he drove and the rate at which the human body metabolises alcohol. They tend to be done in serious cases, such as where a driver has caused an accident, fled the scene, then been found several hours later and given a reading just below the legal limit. Here's one force's policy which says "The back calculation process will generally only be used in connection with investigations into serious injury or fatal crash cases. If a clear case is made in other cases then the decision to despatch the sample will rest with the Inspector, Roads Policing." So if the blood test comes back below the limit it would be unusual for a back calculation to be done for a relatively routine stop of someone who was just over the limit at the roadside. More likely he'd be given some choice words of advice and that would be that.

 

He won't be going to prison over a reading that low unless he's a serial offender or he caused a serious accident. If convicted he'll be fined and banned from driving. Magistrates have strong guidance against sending non-violent offenders to prison these days. For an example of the sort of thing you can do and not go to prison see here and here.

Edited December 20, 2012 by Aretnap

[sailor sam]

They don't normally do two tests at the roadside but they do at the station on the intoximeter and the lowest reading from that is the one used as evidence. As I said before, they won't normally charge someone if the lowest reading does not exceed 40 on the intoximeter.

 

A blood sample can be offered when the reading is slightly above 40 which has been the case here so it will now depend on the result of that. It sounds to me that there is a chance this will show that he is under the limit but don't get your hope up too high.

 

Worse case scenario IMHO is that he will get a 12 month ban with an offer to do a drink-drive awareness course which (on completion) reduce the ban to 9 months. Also he will receive a fine of around £300 plus court costs of about £40. It is highly unlikely there will be a custodial sentence unless there is a history of similar persistence offending.

 

Please Note

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek face to face professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[tommytanker]

Will it help him or protect the community by sending him to prison. No, all it will do is cost the taxpayer a fortune and clog up an already overcrowded system.

A letter from you to the magistrate would be very worth while giving the reasons you asked him to drive.

Drink driving is a socially unacceptable crime although by putting his hands up will mean a lot.

[shiney123]

thank you all for your answers..sorry couldnt answer you before as my mom was hospitalised..

on update we are still waiting for his letter.

[shiney123]

Do anyone know in how much time we may get the letter???

 

As some of pointed..it is his first offence. He is willing to plead guilty.

[Aretnap]

If he was bailed to return on the 22nd and told he'd be contacted in the meantime if the blood result was over the limit then I' assume no news is good news. Keep crossing your fingers and see what happens in 2 weeks.

[shiney123]

Hello everyone,

He got his results today it seems, the reading was 98 for 100ml of blood. A policeman took him to the station at 10 am to handover the result and his court date. The court date is on 8th feb. any ideas what to expect there?? Should we get professional help now?? He says he can't afford it as the one we called asked 1000£ to deal the case. Is it that high??

[Conniff]

Those figures say that no legal rep is required. No matter how educated in the law, they can't get you off drink driving. The only thing open could be a technicality, do your think all the procedure was done correctly ?

[sailor sam]

Hello everyone,

He got his results today it seems, the reading was 98 for 100ml of blood. A policeman took him to the station at 10 am to handover the result and his court date. The court date is on 8th feb. any ideas what to expect there?? Should we get professional help now?? He says he can't afford it as the one we called asked 1000£ to deal the case. Is it that high??

 

I think your answer is in my post #17. 'Professional help' will certainly not prevent a prosecution in this case. A mandatory ban is inevitable i'm afraid.

 

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek face to face professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[assisted blonde]

Its not nice but a ban is an almost certain, save the solicitors fee there are some things that are really not worth arguing about. the ban will pass quickly after the first few weeks although insurance premiums will be higher just hope he dosnt drivce for a living.