You are missing the point. ”drink driving offences” include any offence on relation to using the car whilst affected by alcohol, including “in charge”. If you are pedantic then in charge is not a drink driving offence, because you can be guilty of in charge without driving at all but that is not what the HRO scheme is for, it is for people who have been irresponsible with alcohol connected with motor vehicles, either at a high level who therefore have to show that they are fit to be given their licence back.
you are disputing between the DR40 and the DR50, - which you had. The DR40 could be someone who blew a fraction over the legal limit, and to all intents and purposes appeared to be fit to drive, but the law says they can’t because they are over the limit.
For a DR50, it is true that there does not have to be evidence that a person is over the limit - from a breath test, - for example, but there has to be evidence that a person is unfit to drive, which means they have been shown to be, potentially, a worse risk than someone who has simply blown over an arbitrary limit with no evidence of poor driving.
this is from the .gov website:
High risk offenders
If you’re a ‘high risk offender’, you will not get your new licence until you can prove you’re fit to drive again. You’ll need to pass a medical examination with one of DVLA’s appointed doctors.
You’re a high risk offender if you:
- were convicted of 2 drink driving offences within 10 years
- were driving with an alcohol reading of at least 87.5 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres (ml) of breath, 200 milligrammes (mg) of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, or 267.5 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of urine
- refused to give the police a sample of breath, blood or urine to test for alcohol
- refused to allow a sample of your blood to be tested for alcohol (for example if it was taken when you were unconscious)
When you can be banned from driving, check when your driving ban ends, reduce your disqualification period, disqualified until you've passed your test, drink-driving offences
www.gov.uk
if you are pedantic, you could argue that “I am not a HRO because I didn’t refuse to supply a sample, I tried but failed, that is different” but in fact they are one and the same for legal purposes.
it is the same for “2 Drink driving offences,“ in charge, driving or unfit are all “drink driving offences.
it is also in the guidance booklet on applying for your licence back after disqualification, note it says : “or for being unfit to drive because of drink.” Not “in charge and over the limit”
How do I know if I fall into the HRO category?
You will fall into the HRO category if any of the following apply.
• You have been disqualified for driving, or being in charge of a vehicle, when the level of alcohol in your body was equal to or more than:
- 87.5 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath
- 200 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood, or
- 267.5 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of urine.
• You have been disqualified twice within the space of 10 years for driving over the legal limit or for being unfit to drive because of drink.
• You have been disqualified for refusing or failing to provide a breath, blood or urine sample for testing.
• You have been disqualified for refusing to allow analysis of a blood sample taken due to incapacity.
Courts do not automatically tell you that you are in the HRO category as a result of a drink-driving conviction.
I accept that it isn’t anything that someone explores until they are caught up in the situation, and the jargon is not clear until you explore it.