How To Defend Drink Drive Allegations
The UK maximum limit for drink drive is 35 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
For different drivers this equates to different amounts of alcohol, which can also be affected by your metabolism, food consumed, height, weight, drinking habits etc.
The underlying maximum alcohol permitted is a strict amount however.
The minimum penalty for a drink drive conviction is 12 month ban, which rises depending on the amount of alcohol involved, the circumstances under which you were stopped and whether this is a first offence.
Defending Drinking & Driving Allegations
We consulted with Patterson Law about how best to avoid a driving ban, who said; you must either defend the allegation or use a special reasons argument to argue that you shouldn’t be banned from driving.
There are 4 basic defences;
- You weren’t driving
- You weren’t on a public road or in a public place
- You consumed the alcohol after you had driven, not before.
- Deny being over the limit and contest the reliability of the evidence against you
In the case of special reasons, you may have a valid defence to argue a ban if you can demonstrate that your drinks were spiked and you had no knowledge that you had consumed enough alcohol to exceed the limit.
Another special reason is if you drove during an emergency situation, or even if you only drove a very short distance & importantly that you didn’t put any other drivers or pedestrians at risk by doing so.
Drunk In Charge
If you are sat in your car with your keys on you while over the limit, you can be prosecuted for being drunk in charge, even if you aren’t driving or planning to drive.
This can be defended if you can demonstrate that you had no intention of driving until you were below the limit and safe to do so. In order to prove this, you may need a pharmacology report to back up your evidence.