Failed breath test (50) blood taken but not arrested

Convicted Driver Insurance

drakeriverboat

New Member
My student daughter crashed her car into a tree on a roundabout, she thinks the offices who took her breath said it was 15 but I think it was 50 as she had to have her blood taken which I have a sample of, she was not charged or given any paperwork other than a compliment slip with the police ref on it. if I get the blood tested can they back test it to the time of the accident as I take it the police will be doing this? there was a passenger who was unhurt and my daughter went to hospital for x-ray and scans but was released later that day. do I need a lawyer for her as she is dreading going to court even though she does not know yet if she will have to and what are the potential costs for this? she ahs advised her insurance of the accident but nothing else as she does not have anything to show and breath test result. any help would be appreciated
 
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A back calculation is not guaranteed to happen. The police would need to instruct a forensic toxicologist to calculate the likely level of alcohol in her blood at the time of the incident and that would be based on a number of factors such as pervious alcohol consumption, height, weight, age, gender etc.. The default position in law is that the level of alcohol at the time of the donation of the blood specimen is accepted as being the level at the time of the driving. Unless the police took instructions in relation to the above issues they will be unlikely to carry out a back calculation.

It isn't possible at this stage to predict the likely level of alcohol in the specimen with the information available to me meaning I cannot advise regarding sentence at this stage.

I can advise that a conviction for driving with excess alcohol will result in a minimum 12 month ban. I would advise sending your own specimen off for analysis. This will give you an indication of the likely figure used to form the basis of any charge. The only way of avoiding any ban is to defend the matter. This type of matter can be defended on a technical basis by considering the procedural background of the case and cases involving a blood specimen taken in the hospital setting means that there are potentially more procedural defences to consider in a case of this type than any other. I would advise contacting a specialist to discuss your options, be it on the basis of a plea of guilty or not guilty. You can contact a specialist on 0333 009 5534.
 
A back calculation is not guaranteed to happen. The police would need to instruct a forensic toxicologist to calculate the likely level of alcohol in her blood at the time of the incident and that would be based on a number of factors such as pervious alcohol consumption, height, weight, age, gender etc.. The default position in law is that the level of alcohol at the time of the donation of the blood specimen is accepted as being the level at the time of the driving. Unless the police took instructions in relation to the above issues they will be unlikely to carry out a back calculation.

It isn't possible at this stage to predict the likely level of alcohol in the specimen with the information available to me meaning I cannot advise regarding sentence at this stage.

I can advise that a conviction for driving with excess alcohol will result in a minimum 12 month ban. I would advise sending your own specimen off for analysis. This will give you an indication of the likely figure used to form the basis of any charge. The only way of avoiding any ban is to defend the matter. This type of matter can be defended on a technical basis by considering the procedural background of the case and cases involving a blood specimen taken in the hospital setting means that there are potentially more procedural defences to consider in a case of this type than any other. I would advise contacting a specialist to discuss your options, be it on the basis of a plea of guilty or not guilty. You can contact a specialist on 0333 009 5534.

Thank you Sean, I will send off the sample and then come back to you or the number provided to see what the next steps can/will be.
 
Hi the blood came back at 69 from the sample I sent off. What's the likely outcome and is the police sample going to be roughly the same?
 
A reading of 69mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood is below the legal limit of 80mg. This means that, if the police specimen comes back at that level then it is likely that there will be no further action taken. The police specimen is likely to be lower as the police would have to reduce the result to account for any margin of error. You should contact a solicitor in the event that anything other than no further action is decided by the police upon the result being provided.
 
A reading of 69mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood is below the legal limit of 80mg. This means that, if the police specimen comes back at that level then it is likely that there will be no further action taken. The police specimen is likely to be lower as the police would have to reduce the result to account for any margin of error. You should contact a solicitor in the event that anything other than no further action is decided by the police upon the result being provided.

Hi, I have spoken to the police today and apparently they sent off the sample which was mixed up with another case and it was returned not tested, they have now sent it again to be tested and have advised that if it comes back under the 80mg limit they would request a back test to when my daughter was breathalysed (approx. 4 hours earlier). They did not ask for my daughters weight, height or even when and what she drank, how can they carry out a back test without knowing any of these details? is there a way to find out how to calculate what it would likely be based on the blood taken and tested that I could do? I will no doubt be contacting your solicitor soon in any case.
 
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