Drink Driving Law
People charged with drink driving make up a large proportion of the work of many motoring solicitors, possibly because not enough people understand what it is.
Drink driving is more accurately defined as the offence of being in charge of a vehicle whilst being under the influence of alcohol, beyond the prescribed limit. With modern changes to this law, the prescribed limit is as good as ‘any alcohol whatsoever’; a single pint of strong beer can put you ‘over the limit’, so it’s best not to drive if you’ve had anything to drink at all.
What is generally not known about this law, however, is the details that classify being ‘in charge of a vehicle’. Although driving, or attempting to drive, a vehicle clearly involves being in charge of it; you do not necessarily have to do anything of this manner to be charged with the offence. In fact, if you have a drink a decide to sleep in your car instead of driving home, you can still be charged with being ‘in charge of the vehicle’ – so you’re not safe, even if you’re trying to do the right thing!
If you are convicted of drink driving, the court is obliged to disqualify you from driving, for a period of time depending on the nature of the offence. However, this period will never be less than twelve months, unless you are granted special circumstances – so it’s never going to be a small issue.
The bottom line: sleep in your car after drinking one pint of strong beer and you could be banned from driving for over a year.
