breath test analysis

[lisa]

i was arrested a couple of nights ago having had 2 glasses of wine and crashing into a van on the edge of my drive and on an unadopted road. the owner came out and was screaming and shouting at me, he made me give him my keys and promptly parked my car. i went home and was really shaken so obviously finished off the bottle not realising that the police would call. I went to the police station for a breath test obviously now over the limit, having blown on the machine for 10 mins or so it wouldn't register and they said I had failed to give a sample. the they redone my test at 530am and the machine took maybe 10 mins to work and the officer was having difficulty using it, if finally came on and he had to put different mouth pieces on because they again weren't registering, one eventually did but the other didn;t. I am now having to go to court for failing to give a breath test, has this happened to anyone else, is there anything I could do?

 

[Forum Moderator]

i was arrested a couple of nights ago having had 2 glasses of wine and crashing into a van on the edge of my drive and on an unadopted road. the owner came out and was screaming and shouting at me, he made me give him my keys and promptly parked my car. i went home and was really shaken so obviously finished off the bottle not realising that the police would call. I went to the police station for a breath test obviously now over the limit, having blown on the machine for 10 mins or so it wouldn't register and they said I had failed to give a sample. the they redone my test at 530am and the machine took maybe 10 mins to work and the officer was having difficulty using it, if finally came on and he had to put different mouth pieces on because they again weren't registering, one eventually did but the other didn;t. I am now having to go to court for failing to give a breath test, has this happened to anyone else, is there anything I could do?

Hi Lisa,

The first thing you should do is consult with a solicitor who specialises in drink driving laws. They will be able to obtain and examine all evidence against you and advise you of the best course of action, including any possible defence you may have regarding failing to provide a specimen for analysis. If the police have not followed correct procedure then this can be used as a defence. The fact that the alcohol you consumed after the alleged offence resulted in you being over the legal prescribed limit at the time of testing could also be used as a defence if it was possible for you to prove this was indeed the case.

The law is complex and only a solicitor who has experience regarding drink driving laws, who has examined all evidence, can advise you on the best course of action to take.

Let us know how you get on.