11
Sep 2018
Drink Driving – Do you know the limits?
We all know that ‘drink driving’ is illegal. But do you know the amount of alcohol in your system that is sufficient for the court to find you guilty of an offence?
Being found guilty of drink driving can carry serious, life-changing consequences for you and your family. The minimum penalty, which the court must award, is a driving disqualification for at least 12 months, and that can be the case even if it’s your first offence.
If you’ve had two or more disqualifications for periods of 56 days or more in the last 3 years, then the court will likely disqualify you for 2 years. Furthermore, if you’ve been guilty of this offence in the last 10 years, then the court can disqualify you for at least 3 years. If this isn’t serious enough, you could be imprisoned for up to 6 months.
If you’ve been pulled over on suspicion of drink driving, you’re required to provide a sample, usually with use of a breathalyser, although it may be necessary to take a blood or urine sample.
To determine whether you’re “over the limit”, it will generally depend on your body size and tolerance of alcohol weighed against the amount of alcohol consumed. However, it’s best practice not to drive after consuming any amount of alcohol at all, as there’s truly no “safe-limit”.
If you’ve been asked to provide a sample; to see whether you’re guilty of an offence there and then; the current drink driving limits in England (as of April 2017) are:
| Level of alcohol in your system | Starting point (regardless of plea or pre cons) | Range of penalties | Disqualification penalty | Disqualification if 2nd offence in last 10 years | ||
| Breath (μg) | Blood (mg) | Urine (mg) | ||||
| 120-150+ | 276 – 345+ | 367 – 459+ | 12 weeks custody | High level community order – 26 weeks custody | 29 – 36 months (extend if imposing immediate custody) | 36 – 60 months |
| 90-119 | 207 – 275 | 275 – 366 | Medium level community order | Low level community order – High level community order | 23 – 28 months | 36 – 52 months |
| 60-89 | 138 – 206 | 184 – 274 | Band C fine* | Band C fine – Low level community order | 17 – 22 months | 36 – 46 months |
| 36-59 | 81 – 137 | 108 – 183 | Band C fine | Band B fine* – Band C fine | 12 – 16 months | 36 – 40 month |
- Band C fine = 125 – 175% of relevant weekly income of offender. Band B = 75% – 125%.
The court will, however, listen to and consider further adjustment for any aggravating (reasons against the offender) and mitigating (reasons for the offender); which the offender can argue and justify.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of factors that can increase the seriousness of the offence:
- Previous convictions – having regard to the nature of the offence and its relevance to the current offence (especially if it was a driving offence), and the time since the last conviction;
- Offence whilst committed on police bail;
- Carrying passengers;
- Poor road or weather conditions;
- Involved in an accident;
- High level of traffic.
Here are some examples of factors which could be considered by the court for mitigation – being the offenders’ personal justification for his unlawful actions to try reduce the sentence:
- No previous convictions;
- Genuine emergency;
- Spiked drinks;
- Very short distance driven;
- Remorse;
- Good character;
- Serious medical condition requiring urgent or long term treatment;
- Mental disorder.
If you’ve been involved or charged with the offence of drink driving, get in touch with our specialist criminal defence team who will guide you through the process, discuss your options and deliver the best result for you at criminal@chadlaw.co.uk or ring us on 01924 379 078.
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