HRO definition?

Convicted Driver Insurance

Eirwen

New Member
Hi everyone :)

Just looking for a little help here... I was convicted with a breath reading of 87; however, I also gave a reading of 88 at the police station. Which reading will be used to decide if I am an HRO?

Thanks in advance.
 
Its the reading you give at the police station that goes on record, but since the minimum reading for being classified as an HRO is 87.5, it looks like you're JUST over with the second reading.

Im no lawyer, so please use the "ask a lawyer" section of this forum for sound advice, but with your first reading being marginally under I would be tempted to fight any impending HRO status as it REALLY does impact on your future in so many ways.

Im also surprised the second reading was slightly higher, as usually its lower once you get to the police station.. due to length of time from last drink. Can someone else (Tipsynurse?) jump in here and explain why a second reading at a later time would be higher?
 
So its the reading that is given at the police station that goes on record so why on earth would you suggest fighting the HRO?? The cut off point has to be somewhere.

No surprise the second reading is ONE unit higher. The posters alcohol levels must have either still been going up or simply the evidential breath machine is more accurate
 
hewl said:
No surprise the second reading is ONE unit higher. The posters alcohol levels must have either still been going up or simply the evidential breath machine is more accurate
Click to expand...

ah, that makes sense... yes, i can imagine the police station machine would be a lot more accurate. Mine dropped by 5 for the second reading by the time it took to get to the police station and be processed.

I just assumed (wrongly) that the time between the two readings, the second one would be lower.

Not suggesting/advising the Poster at all as I am not a lawyer/Solicitor, just merely saying that If it was me, I would mention the first reading being under, to a solicitor... nothing would perhaps come of it, but it does no harm to ask. :)
 
The advice is correct, the roadside test is only a guide as the device is battery operated and subject to temperature variations. No one gets convicted on the roadside result. The Police Station result (the lower of the 2 that were provided) is the one that will be quoted to the court. That will not make much difference to your actual sentence, the bracket is 60-89 gives you a 17-22 month ban. The issue is that 87.5 (which of course doesn’t happen because the device only shows whole numbers) or above makes you a HRO and DVLA then invoke the procedure to make you have a medical at the end of the ban.
It is quite common for the police station results to vary between the 2 readings given. In fact there is an allowance, before the result is deemed to be inaccurate, of 7 or 15% - whichever is the greatest. That is not a disadvantage to the motorist because the result that is used is always the lowest figure.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Just to clarify, the post-conviction letter I received from the court states that: "Your alcohol level was 87 in breath".

As 87 is less than 88, this means that I will not be classified as an HRO?
 
The cut off is 87.5 you will be ok

I was 87 on the stations breathalyzer but 45 on the mobile test! scrapped through being an HRO
So to Clarriffy 87 is not HRO so no annual medical for you
 
I presume then that you blew 88 and 87 at the police station so yes, you just scrape in under the HRO level. If the court papers say 87, DVLA will be told that figure
 
My readings were as follows:

Roadside:108

1st reading in police station: 89

2nd in police station: 86

Evidential Sample relied on in court is the lower of the two police station readings, so I just scraped under HRO listing following court
 
Block16 said:
Mine was also 87. Just to confirm this will be what they use in court so not HRO?
Click to expand...
RemorseNI said:
My readings were as follows:

Roadside:108

1st reading in police station: 89

2nd in police station: 86

Evidential Sample relied on in court is the lower of the two police station readings, so I just scraped under HRO listing following court
Click to expand...
Block16 / RemorseNI

The pair of you are just below the benchmark for becoming a High Risk Offender (HRO). It has to be a breath reading of 87.5 or above to fall into this category.

Remorse - the higher reading of 89 will be disregarded. The court case will always hinge on the lowest of the two readings that is 86 in your case.

The pair of you have avoided a world of pain by the skin of your teeth. At least there is a small crumb of comfort to be thankful for (if that is any comfort!)

Thankfully, neither of you will have to do DVLA medicals or have to draw battle lines with the wonderful professionals in the DVLA medical team to get your driving licences back.

CJ
 
C J 1980 said:
Block16 / RemorseNI

The pair of you are just below the benchmark for becoming a High Risk Offender (HRO). It has to be a breath reading of 87.5 or above to fall into this category.

Remorse - the higher reading of 89 will be disregarded. The court case will always hinge on the lowest of the two readings that is 86 in your case.

The pair of you have avoided a world of pain by the skin of your teeth. At least there is a small crumb of comfort to be thankful for (if that is any comfort!)

Thankfully, neither of you will have to do DVLA medicals or have to draw battle lines with the wonderful professionals in the DVLA medical team to get your driving licences back.

CJ
Click to expand...
Just a different type of pain now in my case haha- have to start from scratch as based in NI- will be doing my Theory and Practical as soon as I can following ban being completed on April 1st 2023- already got the theory app on my phone and doing mock tests sporadically
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Enter code DRINKDRIVING10 during checkout for 10% off
Top