First offence, crashed car on way home 4 daughter birthday

Convicted Driver Insurance

Smuttyangel

Member
Hi,
I’m 48, widow to 3 children. Thursday night I’d just got my daughter’s birthday cake after being out all day getting as much as I could for gifts. I’m registered disabled & receiving enhanced PIP for both mobility & daily living components. Mental health not great & have degenerative disk disease, rheumatoid arthritis & fibromyalgia. Spine fusion 2014. Failed. On 50mcg fentanyl patches, gabapentine, naproxen, oxybutnin hydrochloride, Escitalopram, metazapine & melotonin for sleeping.

a supposed friend asked me to get her some beers before went home. Because I can’t say no I did. Then she ordered vodka via local ‘drinks drop’ - I’d just discovered my oldest child (26)is in serious trouble looking at prison time & my daughterwas constantly messaging asking when I’d be home. Confided & broke down to said friend & I accepted a drink of beer plus ‘some’ vodka. No idea howmuchI had? Next thing I know I’ve hit lampost & comeround to air bag inmy face. No injuries apart from forearm abrasions. No seatbelt bruise etc. daughter’s birthday cake intact on passenger seat.

apparently I blew 72 on scene around 1.37am.
Tried at least 5-6 times to breathe into breathalyzer at station but couldn’t manage. Nurse came out to take my blood at 4.38am then released without charge & not on bail.

im absolutely terrified. I’d JUST won a 2 year battle with DWP for my disability & car in Dec & got Motability car Jan 4th this year.

needless to say I’m ashamed, disappointed & disgusted with myself. Any advice or support would be gratefully received. I’ve got atm clean license since 2000.
 
The roadside test is only an indication, I blew 79 at the roadside and blew 93 at the station an hour and a bit later. If we take the roadside test as an example, with a breath reading of 72 you would find yourself in the second sentencing bracket facing a ban of 17-22 months and a class C fine - low level community order depending on the judge. Due to your crash being an aggravating factor you would likely see yourself at the higher side of that range.

You must be honest with your insurance company, if you do not tell them you failed a roadside test and they pay out for your car then they can recover that insurance pay out back from you through the courts once you have been charged with DD if your results come back over the limit. No insurance company in the UK covers first party damage once the insured has been found to be over the limit.

You may be under the limit with the 3 hours that passed between the roadside and the bloods been taken but the police can have a "back calculation" performed to give a reading at the time of your crash, although this is not commonly done for normal offences mainly when there was a crash involving serious injury. The main thing is, this isn't the end of the world. You have made a mistake and in the grand scheme of things you have been very lucky to get away with small injury to your forearms.
 
As Grice96 says, the roadside screening test is only an indication, not evidence.
If the reading at the roadside was accurate then as a female your reading in blood at the time of the roadside Test would have been about 164, with the legal limit being 80. After 3 hours your reading would have come down to about 80-90 and there is a deduction of 6 from the final result at the lab so you are right on the limit for being under or over. If your result comes back as 80 - no further action (subject to a back calculation as Grice mentioned, but not likely with no o;e else involved) if it comes back as 81 or more, then you will face losing your licence for 12-16 months.

The only way to get a quick answer is to get the blood sample you were given (if you accepted it?) tested yourself, but there is a cost to that. Your result would probably come back with an exact answer so you deduct 6 to see what the police result will be.... unless your lab result says they have made that deduction.if they don’t say, they haven’t made a deduction.
 
Thank you v much for your information.. its the first time I’ve ever been in trouble for driving & just not knowing the procedure is worse. Any idea what normal turn around time is for finding out? I did get blood sample but its degraded after 3 days according to RGN who took my blood at the station.
 
It will last for 10 days or so unless kept in the refrigerator.
I have just replied to a PM from someone who has been waiting just over 6 months, but I expect that is from a case where it was under and the police officer has not bothered to inform him.....
You can expect a minimum of 6 weeks, with a usual reply between 6 weeks and 4 months.
 
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