Caught the morning after, defence in court?

[Routemaster]

A lot of people who were caught the morning after a drinking session or the evening after a lunch time drink often felt perfectly ok when they got into their vehicle. The felt they were fully sober, yet they got caught and were over the limit.

In addition to the breath test and test at police station, Should such drivers be given the opportunity of a sobriety test? Perhaps be put on a driving simulator at the police station to show their level of sobriety?

I think it would be a good idea because it can work both ways, it can be used in court by the defendant to prove that they were sober the morning after to drive and perhaps protect them from prosecution.

What are your opinions?

 

[price1367]

Your proposition would not work. How would the police know if it was 'the morning after' or ' in the evening after a lunch time drink?' How are they any different from a person who comes out of a pub after 4 pints and says they feel perfectly sober? Many years ago (pre 1967) sobriety tests used to be carried out for drunkeness. Since then, here, and in virtually all countries in the world, there has been a legal limit. If you are above it then you commit an offence. It is accepted legally and in the medical world that above the limit "your ability to control a motor vehicle is impaired." If you are over the legal limit then you may not be drunk.... but you certainly cannot claim to be sober.

 

[ally]

Friday evening I went out, drunk plenty. Following evening I drove to the pub had one white wine and soda blew 97 just topped up from the night before. I felt sober, bored and tired. no defence, just wish I was educated prior to taking my driving test, attending a course after the event seems pointless to be honest.

 

[mortifiedgrandma]

Hi Ally

I am so shocked that just one drink put you so high, how many hours between your last drink and the one the following evening that led to your arrest?

 

[ally]

the Friday I had shots after shots, Prosecco, champagne, all too much in a short space of time, home for midnight no memory of getting home but was so poorly, ate nothing all the following day and was caught at 11.30 sat night, I felt alright but my body said otherwise. Being lectured to after the event seemed pointless. My DD course money along with thousands of others is well I think paying police over time. Educate drivers prior to their test. That will make a difference.

 

[Routemaster]

the Friday I had shots after shots, Prosecco, champagne, all too much in a short space of time, home for midnight no memory of getting home but was so poorly, ate nothing all the following day and was caught at 11.30 sat night, I felt alright but my body said otherwise. Being lectured to after the event seemed pointless. My DD course money along with thousands of others is well I think paying police over time. Educate drivers prior to their test. That will make a difference.

Unfortunately that figures. If you had over 24 units (the equivalent to 2 half bottles of wine) then you'd still be over the limit 23 hrs later added to that the glass of wine you had the evening you were caught. Takes 1 hour to metabolise a single unit of alcohol. Difficulty with shots is you can't really judge how much you've drunk and prosecco is quite strong.

I think there really needs to be more campaigns warning people the dangers of driving the day after drinking.

 

[ally]

Unfortunately that figures. If you had over 24 units (the equivalent to 2 half bottles of wine) then you'd still be over the limit 23 hrs later added to that the glass of wine you had the evening you were caught. Takes 1 hour to metabolise a single unit of alcohol. Difficulty with shots is you can't really judge how much you've drunk and prosecco is quite strong.

I think there really needs to be more campaigns warning people the dangers of driving the day after drinking.

I agree totally I can compare it to sitting a Spanish A Level exam after attending no lessons a waste of time. Punishing people that have been offered no knowledge of the offence. Non for the road is a slogan, a caption that means little. I would offer the training for free given the chance. I am a teacher with a degree, make it part of the driving test I would deliver the sessions gladly and the information would sink in I would make sure it would.

 

[Routemaster]

I agree totally I can compare it to sitting a Spanish A Level exam after attending no lessons a waste of time. Punishing people that have been offered no knowledge of the offence. Non for the road is a slogan, a caption that means little. I would offer the training for free given the chance. I am a teacher with a degree, make it part of the driving test I would deliver the sessions gladly and the information would sink in I would make sure it would.

Absolutely! When I was younger, back in about 2005 a freind I knew had only just passed their driving test a few months before and now had a car. We worked at the same place often starting early at 4.30 am. He would often have 3 or 4 glasses of wine before going to bed at 1am! Then he'd make the 10 mile drive at 4am. If he was caught they'd have thrown the book at him. On one occasion on a night out he had a pint of lager then a glass of sangria. An hour later he drove home.

These examples are to most people sheer stupidity. Amazingly he never got caught!

The point was he knew he was doing wrong but had never been told of the actual consequences of getting caught drink driving. When learning to drive and doing his test, DD awareness had never been part of learning to drive. He never knew it was a criminal offence that would give him a life long record. He though a DD conviction was a motoring offence just like running a red light or speeding and getting caught was just an inconvenience with points and a fine, not a life changing event! TBH I thought the same I passed my test a few years later, although I never risked drink driving. But I would have agreed with him that points and a fine were the worst it would get. How wrong we were!

Young people are not taught about how serious getting caught is. That its a life changing event, that a criminal record can severely affect your career ambitions, that your license is endorsed for 11 years! There needs to be far more education and a significant portion of the theory test should be on drink driving. Perhaps go even further by making all new cars with alco locks which will not start if the driver is over the limit. Encouraging people to buy breathalysers.

Adding to that the law says its illegal to be over the limit because alcohol impairs your ability to drive, fair play. But being tired, having a cold, being in a bad mood or stressed, even driving into bright sun all impairs driving but non of these people are tested on their tiredness levels or stress levels, even though they may be more impaired and less safe than a drink driver.