Offence: Failing to Provide a Specimen of Breath for Analysis

Defence: Technical Defence

Mr O was charged with an offence of failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis.

Millars Solicitors were able to persuade the Crown Prosecution Service that Mr O had been incorrectly charged, and the offence should have been one of failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis whilst in charge of a motor vehicle, rather than driving a motor vehicle. The Crown Prosecution Service accepted the argument and the charge was changed to reflect the lesser offence.

We managed to persuade the Court to impose 10 penalty points on Mr O’s driving licence instead of a driving disqualification. Naturally Mr O was delighted with the outcome as he faced a minimum period of disqualification of one year, up to a maximum of 3 years.

Offence: Drunk in Charge of a Motor Vehicle

Defence: Mitigation

Millars Solicitors were instructed by Mr H who pleaded guilty to the offence of being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle.

Mr H faced a potential disqualification period of up to 12 months, and a possible custodial sentence.

Powerful mitigation was presented on Mr H’s behalf. The Court were persuaded by the arguments put forward and Mr H received 10 penalty points instead of a driving disqualification. It was advanced at Court that any period of disqualification would be devastating to Mr H. His position in his job would become untenable as he relied upon his driving licence to travel. Mr H was the main income provider within his household and he had real concerns that his mortgage payments would not be met and therefore would face repossession proceedings. The Magistrates were persuaded by the argument and imposed penalty points instead of a ban.

A drink driver who left a trail of destruction as he drove on Christmas Day was told by the court that he “could have killed someone”.

The 36 year old driver, Bryce Reid had been driving to excess before he got behind the wheel of his car.

So bad was his driving that he mounted pavements and smashed through fences before finally crashing into a wall.

After he crashed the car, he had to climb out of the window and was taken to hospital with a fractured wrist and head injury.

Reid pleaded guilty to drink driving and was banned from driving for 2 years.

Drink Driving OAP Who Knocked Down Cyclist Detained By Vigilante

A man who was driving near to a 71 year old driver, witnessed him knock over a cyclist and then just carry on driving.

Not wanting to let the driver get away away with it, and after checking the cyclist was okay, he followed him home, detained him and called the police.

The 71 year old driver, Gordon Salt had been drinking at the pub whilst watching the football. As he drove home he knocked a cyclist clean off the road and never stopped to see if they were injured or not.

When interviewed, Salt told the police that he “only clipped” the cyclist.

Manchester Magistrates Court heard that Salt stated, another car had pulled out in front of him which he swerved to avoid that meant he hit the cyclist.

When police attended at Salt’s address, he was taken to the police station and breathalysed. He gave a reading of 112mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The current legal limit for drink driving in England and Wales is 35mg.

Salt pleaded guilty to drink driving and was banned from driving for 4 years. he was also given a curfew for 3 months between the hours of 7pm and 7am.

The court were not given any further details about the cyclist.

A survey carried out by the British Social Attitude Survey has found that an overwhelming 77% of those people interviewed support a lowering of the drink driving limit in England and Wales.

The results of this survey may well come as no surprise as public opinion continues to sway towards a lower drink driving limit as undertaken by Scotland.

The current drink driving limit in England and Wales is 35mg of alcohol in every 100ml of breath. Scotland reduced their drink driving limit in 2014 to 22mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

At the time of Scotland reducing its drink driving limit, it was suggested that such a change would reduce reduce drink driving related deaths by around 10%.

Scotland has managed to show stats that indicate a 12.5% decrease in drink driving associated offences since they changed their drink driving limit.

It is widely known that England and Wales has one of the highest drink driving limits in Europe.

It is also of interest to note that England and Wales has kept their drink limit the same since 1965.

Adding to the support for such a reduction in limits is the road traffic safety charity, Brake! Other supporting groups include the RAC, the AA, the Institute of Advanced Motorists and the Police Federation.

It has been reported that every year around 240 people die and some 8,000 people are injured as a result of drink driving.

60% of those deaths and injuries are for those other than the driver, such as passengers, pedestrians and cyclists.

It is estimated that this costs the tax payer some £800 million per year.

Commenting on the issue, Gary Rae, Brake’s director of communications and campaigns, said: “Drink driving remains one of the biggest causes of devastating road crashes.

“We must continue to send a clear message to all drivers that drinking and driving is a lethal cocktail.

“This call to action today is a useful stepping stone to a time when there is a zero alcohol limit.”

If you’ve ever woken up after a boozy night out and wondered if you are safe to drive, well there is now a website and app to help.

If you have been driving after a night of drinking, the new online calculator claims to be able to tell you how long you should wait before driving.

The website based calculator was created by The Morning After Campaign. It lets you add wine, beer, cider, spirits and cocktails in an attempt to give you a rough idea on how long you need to wait before you are safe to drive.

The calculator is also available as a smartphone app and is designed to allow 1 hour for each unit of alcohol plus an extra hour for that unit to hit your bloodstream.

With some people wanting to shift blame and responsibility away from themselves, the calculator comes with a few necessary disclaimers: Let’s make one thing absolutely clear at the outset – this calculator is not intended to help you work out how much you can drink on a night out before driving home.

“If you are drinking any amount of alcohol on a night out – even one drink – you should leave the car at home and make alternative arrangements. The calculator won’t help you if you are arrested for drink driving.

“What it will do is enable you to calculate roughly when it will be safe for you to drive the morning after drinking alcohol. And it can help you calculate when to stop drinking alcohol if you have to drive the following morning.

“The calculator allows one hour for each unit of alcohol, plus an additional hour for the first drink to allow for the alcohol to enter the bloodstream. It then rounds up the calculation to the nearest half hour.

“The calculator bases its calculation from the time you stop, not when you start drinking. Some people say this is over-cautious, but we’d rather be safe than sorry.

“The ‘hours before driving’ calculation is not based on any drink drive limit – it is the length of time when the alcohol in the drinks you’ve consumed is likely to have passed through your body. This is when we suggest you will be ‘safe to drive’.”

So please remember that these types of websites and apps are only there for guidance and are not there to abdicate personal responsibility.

It has been reported that a man has been arrested after he failed a roadside drugs test.

However, the most distressing issue that he was drug driving with kids in the car at the time.

The driver, Ryan Proctor, was pulled over by the police as they noticed the kids were not wearing seat belts.

Proctor was then given a swab test by the police which showed that he had cocaine in his system.

He was then arrested and taken to the police station where he refused to give a blood sample for further analysis for drug driving.

He was then charged with failing to provide a specimen.

He later pleaded guilty to that offence at Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court.

The court heard that: “Officers observed him driving a vehicle full of occupants including two small children in the rear who weren’t restrained with seat belts and that was why he was stopped. Officers performed a roadside swab-swipe for the presence of drugs and it came back positive for cocaine and he was arrested and taken to the police station.”

Following representation to the Magistrates, the case was adjourned for sentence as they required a pre sentence report.

A man who tested positive for 3 types of drugs whilst driving has been banned from driving for 12 months.

The drugs he failed his test on were cocaine, ketamine and Benzoylecgonine.

The driver, Rhys Cox came to the attention of the police as he was seen to be driving erratically.

When stopped, police noted that his pupils seemed dilated and it was at that stage they decided to carry out the roadside drug test.

He was transported to the police station where blood samples were taken to ascertain the types of drugs and amounts within his system.

Cox appeared at Swindon Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to the drug driving matters put before him.

Along with the 12 months driving ban, Cox was also fined £150 and ordered to pay court costs of £85.

A drink driver has been jailed for 3 years after ploughing his van into a pedestrian, merely 2 hours after he was driven home by the police.

The driver, Shaun Sainty was travelling in the early hours of the morning to continue a fight from that same day.

Driving after drinking, Sainty ploughed into pedestrian William Coulter, catapulting him over fence.

Coulter suffered breaks to a leg, hip, arm and 3 ribs as well as deep cuts to his back and legs.

Sainty entered guilty pleas to causing serious injuries by dangerous driving, drink driving, driving without insurance, driving whilst disqualified and failing to stop after an accident.

The Judge in the case stated: “This was a horrific piece of driving.”

The Judge continued: “You deliberately chose to drive a vehicle on a road in flagrant disregard to a court order, after consuming so much alcohol you could barely walk.

“And there was the unfortunate Mr Coulter who was doing nothing wrong, and you rode that vehicle straight into him. I do not sentence you on the basis that you realised you had hit him, but that is perhaps indicative of the amount of alcohol you had consumed.

“He is still in a wheelchair and it is merciful he did not lose his life. A motor weapon can be a serious weapon and in the hands of someone like you, an intoxicated driver, it becomes a lethal weapon.”

Coulter continues to be in a wheelchair and is undergoing counselling. Furthermore, before the accident he had just secured new employment, for which it now seems unlikely that he will be able to take up.

An appeal to a drink driving case that has been declared as a having a “unique nature” has been lodged.

Aaron Galbraith appeared before Ballymena Magistrates’ Court, charged with a single offence of drink driving.

Mr Galbraith’s defence was based on his evidence that he had not been drinking but had been using an e cigarette before he was breathalysed.

Mr Galbraith had originally been stopped by police as he was giving a friend a lift home after they had been to the cinema.

He was breathalysed and gave a reading which was twice over the legal limit.

The Magistrates rejected Mr Galbraith’s defence and he was convicted of drink driving. Owing to a 10 year old drink driving conviction, he was disqualified from driving for 3 years.

In a statement he gave to the press after the trial he reiterated that he had not been drinking. He went on to say that he only drank 4 times a year and on this occasion had merely been vaping before he was breathalysed.

Galbraith also stated that because of his earlier drink driving conviction, he would never have got behind the wheel had he taken a drink.

In lodging the appeal, Mr Galbraith’s legal team stated that “new scientific evidence” would be presented at the hearing.

After considering the application, the judge commented on the “unique nature” of the case.

Galbraith has been allowed to continue driving in the meantime.