drink driving details wrong.

[RHODIE]

my mate got pulled over and was over the limit, I think he should be banned, but the charge sheet has a completely different address from where he was stopped. I know he has learnt his lesson but is this a reason to challenge the charge - his family will suffer if he loses his licence.

 

[WOLF]

Not in my opinion no! If you are prepared to drink and drive be prepared to take the punishment given,by challenging the charge because of an address issue is not a way out..............

 

[Broken Byzan]

won't matter, he would have been taken to the station for an evidential test surely?

 

[hades-]

won't matter, he would have been taken to the station for an evidential test surely?

to get charged it will have been at the station the roadside are no got for court

 

[RHODIE]

I agree I am not condoning what he did - I know how horrible it would be to lose someone. if you do the crime do the time and all that. I am only asking because the law seems so fickle with correctness.
he was charged at a police station but they stated the address of incident to be in a different town. I am not asking to judge him, he has to suffer that anyway, I was just after clarity on the cxorrectness of evidence.

 

[hades-]

so best thing to do is see a solicitor

 

[Chillout]

To be honest I don't think it will really matter if the location is incorrect as long as the law is the same as drink driving in the uk is drink driving however the legal limits might differ marginally across borders .

 

[RHODIE]

I wasn't sure either, but I know evidence for other crimes has to be spot on, like position of speeding or you can claim you weren't there.

 

[quattrojames]

It won't matter, it's not an evidential thing. It just means the custody officer entered the wrong (probably pre-populated) data into the charge sheet. The prosecution file etc will have the correct area.

 

[shady-ninja]

it depends on what elements that need to be satisfied in order to prosecute a drink driver.
if location is one of the elements that needs to be satisfied then you might be able
to have the case dropped on technical grounds.
e.g. In my raw knowledge identifying the driver via name & address, 1st and 2nd positive specimen are one of the elements.
read the law to find out the if any other elements exists.
I think the location theory might be a weak strategy.
you need something that might cast element of doubt on the conduct of this case.
I think you need to read an indept amount on the defence laws on drink driving.
if you have a mate at uni or a barrister then he might be able to look indept in this case.

 

[wolfie138]

- his family will suffer if he loses his licence.

tough. this kinda of excuse makes me spit. if the car is that important to you, you should treat it as such and make doubly sure you don't risk losing it. all these *** football players etc who get off bans because they whine that "it would make life difficult" for them make me seethe.
afaic, all drink drivers should lose their licence permanently. if you show you can't be trusted w/ 2 tons of fast moving metal on public roads, you should never ever get the chance to have one again.

 

[shady-ninja]

this man humbled himself to ask for help on behalf of his mate.
all you guys did is just slate him as most of you do on most forums.
yes, his mate is going to be in trouble and that's for sure.
you lot go on as if you are squeakily clean.
give the brother a chance or SHUT UP.

tough. this kinda of excuse makes me spit. if the car is that important to you, you should treat it as such and make doubly sure you don't risk losing it. all these *** football players etc who get off bans because they whine that "it would make life difficult" for them make me seethe.
afaic, all drink drivers should lose their licence permanently. if you show you can't be trusted w/ 2 tons of fast moving metal on public roads, you should never ever get the chance to have one again.

 

[Abb]

Hi Garthy, just to clarify. The drink drive limit in the UK is 35mg/100ml of breath, although they don't prosecute unless you are 40mg or above. Your friend will have failed a roadside breath test which is merely an indicator that he had too much alcohol in his breath specimen when he was stopped. He will have had to provide two further samples on a much more technical machine at the police station, of which the lower reading will have been taken and used for prosecuting him. The place that he was stopped or incorrectly documented will be irrelevant as that will be classed as a minor admin error and does not form part of the prosecution case, which is based on him driving a motor vehicle on a road with an amount of alcohol in his blood/breath which exceeds the legal limit.
Apologies for the long winded response, hope it makes sense.

 

[RHODIE]

thank you Shady-Ninja I appreciate that.

 

[RHODIE]

he has spoken to a solicitor who said it wont make any difference. he will be banned - which he accepts.

thank you for your help, and judgements, but if your mate was in trouble could you just desert him? I couldn't - unless the situation was extreme.

 

[Alexthekidd54]

ok ok shady and garthy

4 years ago december 3 my birthday i lost someone very close to me
by a drink driver
only he was nicked on the 1st december 3 times over bailed and on the 3rd at 1030am yes am he did it again.
his car was un driveable he ran off his friend picked him up from a nearby petrol station the police found him an hour later driveing his mates car 4 times over the limit

so thats how i look on friends of drink drivers that try to help them out of geting a ban
anyway he did get 3year 8 month and a 10 year ban
so really think about next time anyone trys to help a mate ect this is what can happen.

So you say permanently ban them. But as you have just explained there banning someone doesnt mean anything they just jump in a car anyway and do it again.

Maybe the punishment for drink driving needs to harsher than a ban, but there is plenty of room to discuss this topic as there is no right or wrong answer for the punishment that should be given and also there is no final solution to stop somebody driving a car with or without a licence.

 

[Alexthekidd54]

i didnt say a perment ban where did i say that ?
read all the posts i ment no friend should try to help someone who has been caught drink driving

Sorry wrong person read a different part of the post where someone did mention a permanent ban! Sorry.

I agree though nobody should help a drink driver out apart from a legal solicitor.

 

[RHODIE]

I understand BEZ101. I am not trying to get him off a ban, he messed up and deserves punishing. I would never let anyone drive after drinking or cover for them - he doesn't even know I posted on here. I was after information for my own curiosity - plus his stupidity means he has let a lot of people down.

 

[quattrojames]

Fixed that for you...

I agree though nobody should help a drink driver out including a legal solicitor.

 

[Alexthekidd54]

Fixed that for you...

Lol Thank you.

 

[wolfie138]

this man humbled himself to ask for help on behalf of his mate.
all you guys did is just slate him as most of you do on most forums.
yes, his mate is going to be in trouble and that's for sure.
you lot go on as if you are squeakily clean.
give the brother a chance or SHUT UP.

how about no? this is a public forum, i'll say what i like, thanks. squeaky clean? when it comes to drink driving, yes. i've got no tolerance of it,and as for the guy "humbling himself" he's not "asking for help" he's trying to get someone out of getting caught doing something that could have had lethal consequences for innocent parties.
like i said, if the car is that important, he shouldn't have been drinking. serves him right and i hope he loses his licence.

 

[Stringster]

We all make mistakes and being drunk is not a time for rational decisions.
Anyone should given the opportunity to learn from the mistake with harsher punishments if repeated.

There is no point taking a solicitor to court as the drink driving bans are set dependent on the alcohol reading. Impact on family will not be recognized as a mitigating circumstance. Your mate will get as a minimum a 12 month ban with 3 months off for doing a probation course, plus fine dependent on salary. You can look up the lengths of ban online.
He should just turn up smartly suited, be very very sorry for his actions and NEVER do again!

 

[shariain]

I reported a drink driver at Xmas time about 2 years ago. I was at the take away and this guy (suit and tie proper business man)couldn't walk the length of himself without falling over we both left at the same time and I seen a merc clk convertible that was parked diagonally across 2 spaces and thought nothing of it as the car park was relatively empty until he started walking towards it, in the drivers seat and away he went. The police caught him at his house takeaway and all, it was his second time being caught in as many months. About 8 months later I had not heard anything about it and had seen the same guy still driving about the area so I phoned the copper involved and I was told he was using a delay tactic by pleading not guilty at his first hearing forcing the courts to issue a new date for a trial and the courts would the be sending letters to and from the solicitor and the solicitor to the client just over a year and I had still not heard anything and this guy was still driving about legally. About 18 months had went by and I phoned the procurator fiscal to find out what was happening with the case and I got told nothing more was being done when I asked why I was some what shock to find out the guy in question had died.

 

[Zak0123]

We all make mistakes and being drunk is not a time for rational decisions.

No one should be given the opportunity to learn from the mistake of drink driving and be let off scot free the first time (I think a temporary ban is suiting). "being drunk is not a time for rational decisions" !?!? very ignorant view. So everyone should be allowed to make the mistake of drink driving once? Completely inexcusable.

 

[jdp1962]

this man humbled himself to ask for help on behalf of his mate.
all you guys did is just slate him as most of you do on most forums.
yes, his mate is going to be in trouble and that's for sure.
you lot go on as if you are squeakily clean.
give the brother a chance or SHUT UP.

Whether you agree with what someone is saying or not, a public forum is just that, and it's not really appropriate to tell someone to shut up

 

[Stringster]

No one should be given the opportunity to learn from the mistake of drink driving and be let off scot free the first time (I think a temporary ban is suiting). "being drunk is not a time for rational decisions" !?!? very ignorant view. So everyone should be allowed to make the mistake of drink driving once? Completely inexcusable.

No, my point was in relation to the comment about a permanent ban which is not suitable for a first offence.
Drink driving should certainly always be punished and I think the current system of a ban and criminal record is suitable. In fact, I think the ban should be increased from the current minimum of 9 months as a greater deterrent.

 

[Oranoco]

Not going to get dragged into a drink driving debate beyond my thoughts that it's very wrong as it's such an emotive subject.

Ref your mate he is screwed, no ifs whys buts or maybes. The police are allowed to make a bit of a pigs ear of paperwork and still gain a conviction as there is a rule about typos and adminisrative errors being permisible.

He is looking at the bare minimum of a 12 month ban if he's very lucky this might get reduced to 9mnths if offered a drink awareness course. If he was very silly with his alcohol level it could be 18mnth up.

 

[hades-]

just out of interest what did % did he blow ?

 

[RHODIE]

he blew 66. nearly twice the limit I know before I am slated again. he admits he drank more than hew should have but it turns out he had been busy helpoing others and hadn't eaten all day. not an excuse but the copper said if he had eaten he probably would have been clear.
ok i'll wait for the blasting now. he is going to plead guilty, coz he was over the limit before anyone asks.

 

[jdp1962]

Garthy, no one on here has slated you. One or two people (fewer than I might have expected if I'm honest) have made some critical comments about your friend, but I don't think anyone has criticised you for asking questions on his behalf - or have I missed something?

 

[RHODIE]

I probably went on the defensive too quickly - but it was how I read them at the time. if I took them the wrong way I apologise.


I admit he did wrong and drink driving sentriment is high - I didn't realise, naiively I now gather, how 'hated' it is. and if I sounded like I was trivialising it I didn't intend to.

 

[WOLF]

this man humbled himself to ask for help on behalf of his mate.
all you guys did is just slate him as most of you do on most forums.
yes, his mate is going to be in trouble and that's for sure.
you lot go on as if you are squeakily clean.
give the brother a chance or SHUT UP.

Abit harsh..............
A question was asked and a question was answered.......

simple as that,the answer(s) given where no reflection at all on GARTHY!!

 

[voorhees]

I probably went on the defensive too quickly - but it was how I read them at the time. if I took them the wrong way I apologise.


I admit he did wrong and drink driving sentriment is high - I didn't realise, naiively I now gather, how 'hated' it is. and if I sounded like I was trivialising it I didn't intend to.

Garthy,ASN members are known to be whiter than white and never ever break the law in their own little worlds
I would get your mate to speak to a high end motoring solicitor am sure the adverts for them are in some motor mags,they will give him a definite answer without being judgemental.You just have to look at Graham Swann the England Cricketer who was caught drink driving yet got off because of a technicality England cricketer Graeme Swann cleared of drink-driving - Telegraph

 

[RHODIE]

thanks Voorhees. he has a solicitor now so we wait for the case . the solicitor has said he will get banned but not sure of length but expect 12-18 months.

 

[danA3T]

Drink driving ruins lives, no doubt.

But does it make a guy a wrongdoer if he's drunk the wrong sort of lager? Had a single pint over? Not metabolised the alcohol as normal? Maybe his BAC is still high the morning after?

I think the point is that there's many shades of grey here and whilst I won't drive after a pint, there's a risk that if my body doesn't do as i expect, after a few pints I could still be criminalised the morning after.

 

[quattrojames]

That's why the drink drive limit is set far too high, it is (I think) the highest in Europe. If it were a lot lower, potentially zero, then there would be no doubt in people's minds, and you wouldn't have people driving under the mistaken belief they can 'handle one pint' etc.

 

[danA3T]

That's why the drink drive limit is set far too high, it is (I think) the highest in Europe. If it were a lot lower, potentially zero, then there would be no doubt in people's minds, and you wouldn't have people driving under the mistaken belief they can 'handle one pint' etc.

Whilst I never agreed with a zero limit, that actually makes sense. What about the morning after?

 

[Gillihan06]

I completely agree with you. I have seen my friend go through this. The only difference was that he was able to get his license back with the help of a Los Angeles DUI attorney. He earns because he delivers food to people and it would have definitely put his family in trouble. Even he learnt his lesson.

 

[Ron240]

The drink drive limit in the UK is 35mg/100ml of breath

Except in Scotland where it is 22 mcg.
It was reduced 4 years ago.