Driving under the influence of drugs

Convicted Driver Insurance

mrmaddog

New Member
I was arrested back in May on suspicion of driving whilst under the influence of drugs, at the time I had been assaulted and was a little shook up. Whilst being transported to the police station I was violently sick due to the amount of blood I had swallowed and was instead taken to the hospital, it transpired that I had a broken nose and cheek at the hospital, the police still wanted to blood test me so the police doctor attended, no impairment test was carried out by the police or the doctor that attended who took the blood.

I have a couple of questions.

Does the fact that no impairment test was carried out count in my favour ?
The blood sample taken was left out at room temperature for about 8 hours by the police, does this compromise the blood sample?

I was bailed after the arrest, attended and then re-bailed, when I attended for bail the second time I was advised I had no case to answer, I assumed this was because the blood test was negative but have not been told that by the police, today however I had a voicemail from the police requesting I contact them regarding attending an interview concerning the offence.

So I have a couple more questions before I speak to the police again

Do I have to attend the interview or can I refuse seen as i've already been released from police bail?
I've also been advised by a friend that that the if the police want to charge me with the offence they need to do so within 6 months of the arrest is this true?

I would appreciate your help with the above questions and any advise that you may feel relevant.
 
Whether you need to attend the interview will depend on whether you are being asked to attend a voluntary interview or whether you are being bailed to attend. If it is a voluntary interview then you can refuse although the police may then seek to arrest you and interview you, which would obviously not be at a time arranged at your convenience. I would heavily advise contacting a local solicitor to speak about representation regarding this interview.

There seem to be a couple of procedural irregularities, typically the blood specimen should be immediately placed into a refrigerator to preserve the quality of the specimen. If this has not been done then it may well be worth instructing an expert to look into this issue and how it has affected the reliability of the specimens.
 
Thanks for the advice. Traces of cocaine were found in my blood but at very low levels 0.005 mg/l, i have arranged to go for the voluntary interview and have arranged a solicitor to be there with me and raise the issues I did in my post with him.

I appreciate you replying.
 
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