Failure to provide a specimen of breath

Convicted Driver Insurance

Cool days

New Member
Hi all, a few days ago the police arrived at my house when I was on the back garden with some friends around 20 minutes after i'd been driving, I had a drink after I had been driving and the police suspected me of drink driving and breathalysed me, I blew 46 at the roadside but failed to provide at the station (not deliberately) because I was short of breath, after the test failed twice I told the officer I was struggling to finish the breathalyser but none the less I tried again but failed, the officer then told me I would have to appear in court but he didn't tell me this before the test. Also I have never been in trouble with the police before this incident.

Would appreciate any advice on whether I should plead guilty or not as I really didn't have the lung capacity at the time to complete the breathalyser.

Thanks
 
You evidence that you drank after you got home counts for nothing because you are not accused of drink driving. For failing to supply you have to sew that you had “reasonable excuse”.
What did you say on arrival at the station when you were booked in?
Did you say you had health problems?
Have you got asthma or a similar condition?
Can you evidence that from your medical records?
There must have been some sort of incident you had, or a member of the public concerned about your driving for the police to just turn up, what did they say they called at your house for?
 
My friend had gotten into a fight that night and that's what they originally showed up to the house for and no I don't have any health problems.
 
So you will struggle to show why you failed to supply. It is presumed that a reasonable person, in reasonable health, would be able to provide the necessary samples with little difficulty.
it is a shame you didn’t supply samples because you might then have been able to evidence the post driving alcohol consumption in your defence.
 
Get yourself a lawyer who deals with drink driving, it looks to me like their probable cause for even asking for a sample is a bit flimsy, you might need medical evidence of why you were unable to provide a second specimen at the station. Having no criminal history may work in your favour
Good luck with you case
 
Ak1 said:
Get yourself a lawyer who deals with drink driving, it looks to me like their probable cause for even asking for a sample is a bit flimsy, you might need medical evidence of why you were unable to provide a second specimen at the station. Having no criminal history may work in your favour
Good luck with you case
Click to expand...
Yes I was thinking the same thing also, as soon as the police arrived at my house they put me and my friends in handcuffs and tried to ascertain who had been in an altercation, then asked who had been driving. I've looked into getting a lawyer but i'm not sure I can afford it to be honest, cheapest I've found is around £2000 and if I plead not guilty I will have to pay more if it gets adjourned.
 
Ak1 said:
Get yourself a lawyer who deals with drink driving, it looks to me like their probable cause for even asking for a sample is a bit flimsy, you might need medical evidence of why you were unable to provide a second specimen at the station. Having no criminal history may work in your favour
Good luck with you case
Click to expand...
Sadly you are wrong. Because the poster failed to provide a sample, all the police have to show is:

firstly that they had a reasonable suspicion that he had driven a motor vehicle, and that he had alcohol in his system- he has said that he told the police that he had been driving And he failed a screening breath test after the police presumably smelt alcohol on his breath.
secondly the person fails to provide without reasonable excuse, and it seems there is no medical evidence offered to the police or indeed by the poster on here as to why he failed to supply. “I found it too hard” is not a reasonable excuse in these circumstances.
Cool Days, what you need is to either ask a local general solicitor to put in mitigation for you in a guilty plea, which need only cost about £300, or speak to the magistrates yourself to apologise and perhaps hand in a couple of character references, or the last option is to see if the duty solicitor is available on the day to represent you.
The duty solicitor is free, but if he / she is busy with other more serious offences then they may not be able to represent you (because there is no risk of imprisonment in your circumstances, they cannot claim for representing you)
 
price1367 said:
Sadly you are wrong. Because the poster failed to provide a sample, all the police have to show is:

firstly that they had a reasonable suspicion that he had driven a motor vehicle, and that he had alcohol in his system- he has said that he told the police that he had been driving And he failed a screening breath test after the police presumably smelt alcohol on his breath.
secondly the person fails to provide without reasonable excuse, and it seems there is no medical evidence offered to the police or indeed by the poster on here as to why he failed to supply. “I found it too hard” is not a reasonable excuse in these circumstances.
Cool Days, what you need is to either ask a local general solicitor to put in mitigation for you in a guilty plea, which need only cost about £300, or speak to the magistrates yourself to apologise and perhaps hand in a couple of character references, or the last option is to see if the duty solicitor is available on the day to represent you.
The duty solicitor is free, but if he / she is busy with other more serious offences then they may not be able to represent you (because there is no risk of imprisonment in your circumstances, they cannot claim for representing you)
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice. Is it worth mentioning that the officer didn't inform me that I would be prosecuted untill after I had failed to supply a sample of breath?
 
The police have to do it by the book.
they read out the relevant parts from a form called a MGDD/A
before they do the actual breath testing they read out bits about when you last ate and drank etc and also say “I require you to provide 2 samples of breath for analysis by means of an approved device. The specimen with the lower reading will be used and the higher one will be disregarded. I must warn you the failure to provide 2 samples of breath will render you liable to prosecution. Do you agree to provide 2 samples for analysis?”
The underlined bit is the warning about prosecution.
 
price1367 said:
The police have to do it by the book.
they read out the relevant parts from a form called a MGDD/A
before they do the actual breath testing they read out bits about when you last ate and drank etc and also say “I require you to provide 2 samples of breath for analysis by means of an approved device. The specimen with the lower reading will be used and the higher one will be disregarded. I must warn you the failure to provide 2 samples of breath will render you liable to prosecution. Do you agree to provide 2 samples for analysis?”
The underlined bit is the warning about prosecution.
Click to expand...
They asked me if I had anything to eat etc when I first arrived at the police station but never asked me if I agree to provide a sample of breath or inform me that I would be prosecuted if I didn't until I had failed the breathalyser. He came to the holding cell maybe an hour later or so and told me I had to give a sample of breath
 
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