Arrested from Home not in the car

[Ralph1234]

Hi,

My boyfriends was recently arrested for drink driving however he was actually arrested from our house around half an hour after he got home as someone had reported him for pulling out in front of them and gave his car registration. He admitted to me he had had a few drinks before getting behind the wheel but then had a bottle of vodka in the half an hour he was home so he blew 118 on the breathalizer. i was just wondering if you could give us any advise on if you think he will be charged and banned when this is the case as if he has been arrested at the time in the car he would not have blown anywhere near this reading.

Thanks very much

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

The issue that you are raising is called post incident consumption. Generally speaking, the reading provided at the police station is deemed to be an accurate reflection of impairment at the time of driving, unless you can prove on the balance of probabilities (i.e. 51% or greater) that this is not the case. Your boyfriend is therefore in the position that if he is going to advance this argument he will need to convince the Court that it is more likely that he consumed the additional alcohol. This will hinge on a number of factors, including whether he told the police about the additional alcohol when arrested. The Court are also likely to query why he has consumed so much alcohol in such a short space of time.

I cannot say whether this issue would amount to a defence or whether it would simply lower his alcohol reading but still leave him over the limit. You would need to instruct a forensic toxicologist to carry out a report commenting upon his alcohol consumption and what his reading would likely have been had he not consumed the additional alcohol. The report will then clarify whether he would have been over the limit at the time of driving.

If your boyfriend is convicted of drink driving with a reading of 118 in breath then the Magistrates sentencing guidelines advise the imposition of a 23-28 month disqualification and a community order. His reading places him at the higher end of this bracket. The Court are also likely to offer the drink drive rehabilitation course which would reduce the length of the disqualification by up to 25% upon completion.