Drink Driving and Car Insurance

The number of drink driving related deaths on British roads hit 12,000 by the year 2000 according to the department for Transport. A more worrying statistic is that half of these drivers didn't even know they were drink driving. This excuse wouldn't be any defence. In this instance you would certainly lose your license and could well end up in prison.

If you fail the breath test, you will be arrested for drink driving and cautioned before being escorted to the police car, it is best to not add obstruction or resisting arrest to your difficulties, so just follow the officer's orders. Please note that the police are under no obligation to make sure that your passengers get home safely although very often they will assist your passengers should they need help.

On arrival at the police station you will be booked into custody and read your rights. These include legal advice, but remember you cannot hold up the breathalyzer procedure to wait for that advice. You will be searched, assigned a cell and you will have to face a line of questioning such as, "Do you take drugs?" and "Have you ever tried to harm yourself?"

You will also have to give a DNA sample and your finger prints and photograph will be taken. They may remove anything on you which you could use to harm yourself - such as shoes, a pen knife key ring, etc. If your reading is between 35-50 in-breath you will be offered a blood test. However you must be offered urine instead of blood if you have "a valid reason not to give blood".

Your future now depends on the breathalyzer reading you give at this point. You must blow hard enough, or the police will charge you with failure to give a specimen and an 18-24 month ban will follow. You can choose to replace the breath specimen with blood, which is an option to consider, since you can test your own specimen by taking it immediately to the nearest big hospital and expect to pay £90. You also get four weeks grace whilst the blood is analysed. You do not get the option of providing a urine sample - it is not your choice. A urine test is for those with medical reasons such as haemophilia when blood cannot be taken.

If your reading is 88 in breath (200 in blood or 268 in urine) you are deemed a "High Risk Offender" and will need a medical before you can drive again (this costs another £85). Ten percent of people never get through it!
You don't have to be over the limit to be convicted of drink driving (just impaired - in other words negatively affected by alcohol), nor do you need to be driving. This means just in charge.

If you blow under the 35 limit (that is 35mg/100ml in breath) you are innocent, and will be released immediately. A reading between 35-39 and they will still normally release you without charge. But any reading around the 40-55 bracket, and you are looking at a one year ban from driving.

With drink driving becoming increasingly socially unacceptable we can only advise that you have none for the road, that way if you are stopped you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

Date - 15/09/2006