The Defence of Post Driving Consumption

Convicted Driver Insurance

Joey53

New Member
Hello there

I have a background in law so am attempting to help my gf, however I do not practice so I require some advice. I hope you can help.

My gf has been charged with 2 offences - drunk driving and drunk whilst in charge of a motor vehicle. She had been at the pub with her sister and drove home - the bar staff reported her to the police. She was in the shower when the police arrived.

She had 1 glass of wine at the pub and then another when she got home. She feels this 2nd glass put her over the limit (her breath reading was 43).

When taken to the station her reading was again 43 and then 41.

The police and bar staff allege that she had more than 1 drink at the pub as they have submitted till receipts as evidence; of six drinks being purchased. However these were bought by her sister who had consumed these extra drinks. (The six drinks were all glasses of wine).

However the drinks were bought in batches of 2 (in my opinion this looks like the drinks were bought for both to consume). So three rounds of two glasses of wine each time.

Surely if she had consumed more than one drink at the pub (they allege 3) her reading would be higher? I'm of the view that a toxicologist report would correlate with this view and prove her innocence?

I have looked at all papers and there are no procedural errors, so this seems like her only defense.

The evidence from cps also refers to cctv but does not make clear what is on this. I suspect it's footage of the car leaving the car park but I could be wrong. We are not allowed access to this tape until she pleads not guilty on Tuesday.

I hope you can advise!

Warm regards

K
 
A defence of post incident consumption or a 'hip-flask' defence is a complicated one. You are correct in that an expert can provide a report to assist with this. Essentially, the burden is on the defendant to prove that the alcohol that was consumed 'after the event' was what took her over the limit. There is a presumption that the alcohol level at the time of the test is the same as the time of the driving. An expert report would need to provide evidence to the contrary based on the facts of the case.

The expert can also look at the prosecution version of events based on the statements of the bar staff. An expert can be instructed to consider what the reading would equate to given the evidence of the prosecution witnesses. If this is more than the reading recorded at the station then this would discredit the prosecution witnesses. However, this does not mean that it would prove your partner's innocence given that, as things stand, there is evidence from the breathalyser which, if accurate, presumes her to be over the limit at the time of driving. This presumption needs to be rebutted by expert evidence. I would always recommend instructing a specialist lawyer to deal with a 'hip-flask defence' given its complicated nature.
 
Enter code DRINKDRIVING10 during checkout for 10% off
Top