Help!

[chan]

Last night after drinking a fair bit of wine, I decided to drive home from a party and crashed my car into a wall. I panicked and left the scene but returned within 5 mins as I realised this was foolish. The police were already there having chanced upon my crashed car as part of their normal patrol. I admitted to driving it and told them I had been drinking. The car looks to be a write off and I have damaged a wall. They didn't have the equipment to breathalyse me at the roadside and so they took me to the station but the machine wouldn't work. I eventually gave a blood sample and spent the night in a cell and I am now waiting to find out the results of that.

I would really like some questions answering if possible. Firstly I am a teacher - will the police tell my employer and would this result in me losing my job? Secondly, the officer told me that if I received a letter within the next week or so then this would mean that the results of the blood test would be negative and I wouldn't be prosecuted. I can't see this being the case - I had drunk a lot - but will I be notified of the alcohol level in my blood before I go to court? The officer didn't mention this. He said if I received nothing from them that I was to return to the police station on an agreed date to proceed.

I am so upset and confused at the moment and would really appreciate any words of wisdom from anyone who can help.

Many Thanks.

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

For certain professions the police will inform your employer routinely in the event of you being charged with a recordable offence. Teaching is one such profession so I am afraid the answer is that the police are likely to inform your employer if you are charged.

You will be informed of the alcohol reading before you go to court. The charge sheet that you will be provided with, if you are indeed charged, will refer to the level of alcohol within the charge and you may also be given a copy of thye certificate of analysis when you return to the police station. The only problem is that this could be several weeks away, leaving you in suspense for some time. If you want to find out sooner, and in order to protect yourself and preserve evidence, then I would recommend that you arrange for the sample you were supplied with by the police to be independently analysed. This can usually be done for around £100 or so and, depending on how busy the laboratory is that you use, can produce a result within a couple of days. At least this will put your mind at rest one way or another and will enable you to challenge the police analysis if that turned out to be a different reading.