Drink Driving question

[driver]

Dear Sean Joyce,

I've been caught drink driving and first breath test showed 47, other two a the police station showed 44 and 48 respictively. I've also done a blood test. The one they gave me i took to an independent examination. The results i got showed 82 mlg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, with the legal limit of 80. So i was wondering am i still going to be charged with drink driving? 82 is so close to the legal limit... If yes, then what can i expect from the court sentence? Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

Your breath readings are irrelevant and will be disregarded completely now that you have replaced them with a sample of blood.

In the case of blood samples the situation tends to be black and white. If your reading is above the legal limit of 80 mg you will be prosecuted. The accepted protocol of the forensic science service is to reduce the actual level of alcohol in the blood by either 6mg or 6%, whichever is the higher. You can usually tell whether or not this reduction has been made with the words "a level of not less than xx mg" on the certificate of analysis.

If over the limit the prosecution will be commenced by either charge, postal requisition or court summons. If convicted, in the absence of any aggravating features (like crashing the car, for example) then because your reading is only marginally over the limit (assuming the police analysis is the same or similar) there is no reason why the court would ban you for any longer than the minimum period, which is 12 months and give you a fine based on your means and ability to pay.

You should also make sure you ask the court to consider referring you to the drink drive rehabilition course for the 25% reduction in length of ban.