Breath test confusion!

[siera]

Hi all, I need some good advice if anyone can help. I was in a bump the other day in the car, Id stupidly had 2 pints prior to this. I passed all my details over, nobody was hurt and pushed my car onto a pub carpark as it wasnt drivable. Thinking that was that, I went in the said pub and had 2 more pints. The police then turned up and asked me to "leave my drink" and provide a breath sample, which I did. 62 in breath was my lowest. The police seem to not want to listen to the fact of me consuming alcohol between driving and the specimen. They chose not to interview me even though I wanted to be interviewed to put my concern accross. From them saying "leave your drink" to me having to blow could not have been more than 10-15 mins max. I have got a court date and was wondering what to do?

 

[gutted]

Did you tell the police all of this at the time? I know you didn't have an interview but you might have mentioned it to the pig who arrested you, breathalysed you or charged you (there is a also a little box on your charge sheet that they should have asked you if you wanted to make a brief statement in).

What where you drinking, and how long was there between each of a) starting your first pint, b) crashing you car and c) being breathalysed?

When you say 15 mins between finishing your drink and being breathalysed did you mean the roadside test, or a test in the station?

Incidentally if your court appearance is imminent and you don't have time to instruct a solicitor etc you could go and plead not guilty at which point you will be given a date for a trial, for a month or two down the line. You can hire a solicitor any time.

 

[siera]

My reply to the charges that were read to me at the police station was "alcohol was consumed after the accident" This is printed on my charge sheet. The bump happened at 1755hrs to which I had consumed 2 pints of fosters beforehand, approx within an hour or there abouts. After the bump but before sample I consumed a further 2 pints, failed roadside test (10-15 mins after being told to stop drinking) arrested and blew 62 at police station at 1938hrs. So thats 4 pints which put me at 62 at around 2.5 hrs later. How would I begin to work out what my level may have been at the time of driving? I had nothing to eat that day if this needs to be put in the equation. I have an appointment with a solicitor now but would just like to know at a guess if I was ok to drive on the above info. Thankyou for any help.

 

[siera]

After speaking to a number of law firms I have been informed that I cannot recieve legal aid because the alleged charge is a motoring offence. Is this true? If it is I am now stuffed as I cant afford to get legal representation or afford to pay for a back calculation. It looks like Im guilty until proven innocent now. Would it be still in my favour to try and argue the point of drinking after driving even if I have witneses?

 

[gutted]

Assuming you are male and weight approx 72 kg, taking a breath test 2 hours and 40 mins after drinking 4 pints of fosters (4.9% abv) would elucidate a BAC of 0.131% (which equates to 62 mg in breath) - so your description of events adds up. Using the same formula if you had started drinking 1 hour ago and only drunk 2 pints your would have a bac of 0.7 which is equal to 33 mg in breath (i.e. under).

Got to fight it!

 

[siera]

Assuming you are male and weight approx 72 kg, taking a breath test 2 hours and 40 mins after drinking 4 pints of fosters (4.9% abv) would elucidate a BAC of 0.131% (which equates to 62 mg in breath) - so your description of events adds up. Using the same formula if you had started drinking 1 hour ago and only drunk 2 pints your would have a bac of 0.7 which is equal to 33 mg in breath (i.e. under).

Got to fight it!

Well I managed to get the bac done which came back at 42. Had to plead guilty and took a 3 year ban, £670 fine and the removal of my HGV entitlement after ban ends plus the order of a dvla medical (got a 12 month ban 9 yrs 6 mnth before this which makes medical a must) . Anyway its now been 3 years and 2 months and im back on the road all legal and believe me, going to work and back 6 miles a day on a pushbike in all weathers taught me a lesson! So to anyone reading this I can only wish you luck because I really thought I was under the limit and still got shafted!!!

 

[europhil]

Well I managed to get the bac done which came back at 42. Had to plead guilty and took a 3 year ban, £670 fine and the removal of my HGV entitlement after ban ends plus the order of a dvla medical (got a 12 month ban 9 yrs 6 mnth before this which makes medical a must) . Anyway its now been 3 years and 2 months and im back on the road all legal and believe me, going to work and back 6 miles a day on a pushbike in all weathers taught me a lesson! So to anyone reading this I can only wish you luck because I really thought I was under the limit and still got shafted!!!

Have you still no HGV entitlement?

 

[siera]

No the HGV has been removed by request of Vosa due to being in the "high risk" catagory. I have contacted dvla and they say its "out of there hands, I must contact Vosa" which I did. Vosa say that after I PASS my dvla medical I can then arrange some sort of meeting that will allow me a chance to "explain" myself to Vosa and ask for them to reinstate my HGV entitlement. Vosa say there is no charge for this "meeting" and dvla say there would be no charge to get it put back on the licence as long as Vosa agree I would never be a risk in a 40 ton lorry! So it looks like Vosa can tell dvla what to do as far as HGV goes, I have not even started the ball rolling with all this yet, got dvla medical on the 20.1.14 and then I will take it from there.

 

[europhil]

No the HGV has been removed by request of Vosa due to being in the "high risk" catagory. I have contacted dvla and they say its "out of there hands, I must contact Vosa" which I did. Vosa say that after I PASS my dvla medical I can then arrange some sort of meeting that will allow me a chance to "explain" myself to Vosa and ask for them to reinstate my HGV entitlement. Vosa say there is no charge for this "meeting" and dvla say there would be no charge to get it put back on the licence as long as Vosa agree I would never be a risk in a 40 ton lorry! So it looks like Vosa can tell dvla what to do as far as HGV goes, I have not even started the ball rolling with all this yet, got dvla medical on the 20.1.14 and then I will take it from there.

I would contact your traffic commissioner about that, It's not down to vosa to make those sort of decisions, They just enforce the regulations.
I've been in touch with my TC and the've been very helpful.

 

[price1367]

I would contact your traffic commissioner about that, It's not down to vosa to make those sort of decisions, They just enforce the regulations.
I've been in touch with my TC and the've been very helpful.

As things stand, if the original poster is correct, he has been misinformed, the Traffic Commissioners are currently responsible for hearings to determine if a goods vehicle driver gets their licence back, and the timescale for this, so Europhil is correct.
There are some changes afoot though, from April 2014, with a merger of VOSA and the DSA where it appears that the new agency: the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will be responsible for licences. I haven't fully absorbed the changes yet, the consultation period only ended on 4th January, but the proposed changes are here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/driver-and-vehicle-standards-agency-named

 

[siera]

Ahhhh right! I was under the impression that the T.C. and Vosa were all part of the same outfit. It must have been the T.C. that I contacted, it was a phone number for my area that dvla gave me to ring, I just presumed it was Vosa. Whoever it was they said I would have to go and "explain my actions" to them at some point with a view of them supporting any reinstated hgv entitlement. The only good news to come out of this is the insurance price on the car! Ive just been added as a named driver (DR10 included) on the mrs insurance and its only increased by £11 per month. Its now cheaper than it was before all this, unbelievable!