thebillster
New Member
Failed without reasonable excuse to provide a sample of breath roadside & at station
Hi, I trust this finds you well. Here goes. I am currently signed off sick with stress related illness, and am being treated by GP for insomnia, mild depression and anxiety. Left local pub having just finished a pint of cider at 10.20 pm and pulled over outside a former residence after driving half a mile up the road with no incident, to turn on my bluetooth car kit. Immediately flashed up by the police. Wound down my window and was informed by a uniformed police officer that they had reason to believe I had been drinking alcohol, and requested I do a roadside breath test. Here's the rub. I was only aware of one other person that this had happened to, which was the father of my best man, who was pulled over many years ago whilst running a chauffeur company, failed badly at roadside but was exonerated by being well under with a subsequent blood test at the Police Station. His advice was "Don't trust the breathalyzer, you'll have to go to the station, but the blood test is best and more clinical as my results showed". As a result I refused the roadside, confirmed I'd drunk a pint of cider and requested that I give a blood sample, however was denied this by the PC as "not your choice" which made sense roadside, and was taken to the Police Station, and booked in. I was subsequently brought to a room in the station to take another breath test, whilst I continued to request a blood sample. Procedurally there were issues with the officers use of the breath technology, in that they were struggling to get the device working, which gave me no further confidence in the breathalyzer at all, and I continually requested that they please take my blood. Again I was formally requested to use the breathalyzer, and when I refused as I thought I'd made it clear that I wished to have my blood tested, the response was "You've just made my job very easy, it's not your choice", which conflicted with the advice I'd had from my friend's Dad and essentially that was it. The next morning again they came in with a breathalyzer, which again I refused asking the chap why can't they take my blood, to which he replied that it was too late and this test was "non-evidential". I was charged for failing twice to provide a sample without a reasonable excuse, and am on magistrates bail until the 7th of June. Is it best to plead guilty as I obviously didn't provide a breath sample due to my misunderstanding of what could be done, and offer special reasons for avoiding disqualification, as I am a single Dad of 3 for broadly 50% of the time after 4 years of family law litigation plus need a car for work when the Dr is happy for me to return, or can one request a stay before pleading of 30 days to get legal advice under the human rights act as I am facing a Tier 1 Tax Tribunal on the 16th of May for 2 weeks (hence the stress related illness) and cashflow is maxed due to a £30k payment to my ex-wife as part of a consent order to end the marriage, request/examine the CCTV breathalyzer footage and consider whether there is a procedural issue one can use as a defence worthy of pleading not guilty, as frankly I consider myself guilty of the charge as didn't comply due, but was not a barrier to being tested, just ignorant of the fact that it wasn't up to me how I was tested unless I'd given a breath sample in the first place (ah the benefit of hindsight), plus I have no previous history so a first time offence, currently no points and no other parties were involved or there was a suggestion of erratic driving by the police and so forth please?
Hi, I trust this finds you well. Here goes. I am currently signed off sick with stress related illness, and am being treated by GP for insomnia, mild depression and anxiety. Left local pub having just finished a pint of cider at 10.20 pm and pulled over outside a former residence after driving half a mile up the road with no incident, to turn on my bluetooth car kit. Immediately flashed up by the police. Wound down my window and was informed by a uniformed police officer that they had reason to believe I had been drinking alcohol, and requested I do a roadside breath test. Here's the rub. I was only aware of one other person that this had happened to, which was the father of my best man, who was pulled over many years ago whilst running a chauffeur company, failed badly at roadside but was exonerated by being well under with a subsequent blood test at the Police Station. His advice was "Don't trust the breathalyzer, you'll have to go to the station, but the blood test is best and more clinical as my results showed". As a result I refused the roadside, confirmed I'd drunk a pint of cider and requested that I give a blood sample, however was denied this by the PC as "not your choice" which made sense roadside, and was taken to the Police Station, and booked in. I was subsequently brought to a room in the station to take another breath test, whilst I continued to request a blood sample. Procedurally there were issues with the officers use of the breath technology, in that they were struggling to get the device working, which gave me no further confidence in the breathalyzer at all, and I continually requested that they please take my blood. Again I was formally requested to use the breathalyzer, and when I refused as I thought I'd made it clear that I wished to have my blood tested, the response was "You've just made my job very easy, it's not your choice", which conflicted with the advice I'd had from my friend's Dad and essentially that was it. The next morning again they came in with a breathalyzer, which again I refused asking the chap why can't they take my blood, to which he replied that it was too late and this test was "non-evidential". I was charged for failing twice to provide a sample without a reasonable excuse, and am on magistrates bail until the 7th of June. Is it best to plead guilty as I obviously didn't provide a breath sample due to my misunderstanding of what could be done, and offer special reasons for avoiding disqualification, as I am a single Dad of 3 for broadly 50% of the time after 4 years of family law litigation plus need a car for work when the Dr is happy for me to return, or can one request a stay before pleading of 30 days to get legal advice under the human rights act as I am facing a Tier 1 Tax Tribunal on the 16th of May for 2 weeks (hence the stress related illness) and cashflow is maxed due to a £30k payment to my ex-wife as part of a consent order to end the marriage, request/examine the CCTV breathalyzer footage and consider whether there is a procedural issue one can use as a defence worthy of pleading not guilty, as frankly I consider myself guilty of the charge as didn't comply due, but was not a barrier to being tested, just ignorant of the fact that it wasn't up to me how I was tested unless I'd given a breath sample in the first place (ah the benefit of hindsight), plus I have no previous history so a first time offence, currently no points and no other parties were involved or there was a suggestion of erratic driving by the police and so forth please?
