September Blog

As a former police officer (Working out of Barton Street and latterly the Forest of Dean) I have attended many car crashes, and unfortunately many fatal car crashes.

There may be a number of reasons for a car crash; lack of attention, difficult conditions, poor visibility, using a mobile phone whilst driving or unfamiliar roads for example, however as we wave goodbye to summer and Christmas decorations start to appear in the shops, it is the build up to work parties, and… drink driving.

Drink driving is looked dimly upon by the Courts, and rightly so. You could face anything from a fine, a driving ban or even imprisonment. The fine could be as much as £2,500 for even being ‘in charge of a vehicle’, and to break this down into its’ simplest of terms, if you are sat inside your vehicle, even to grab something from the glove box for example with no intention of driving, and your keys are on your person, then you are ‘in charge of the motor vehicle’.

If you take the next step, and drive or attempt to drive a motor vehicle whilst above the legal limit, the outcome is worse, and is reflected by another crime of ‘refusing to provide a specimen of breath, blood or urine for analysis’; and you may get:

Up to 6 months in prison.

An unlimited fine.

A driving ban for at least one year (3 years if convicted twice in 10 years).

There was a case many years ago around Westgate Island, Gloucester that I was involved with, which saw the death of man crossing the road when he was struck by a driver under the influence of drink. The driver had ‘Caused death by careless driving, when under the influence of drink’.

He wouldn’t have meant to have hit the pedestrian, but he was so impaired by alcohol he was unable to react in time.

For committing this offence, the Courts can order:

Life imprisonment.

An unlimited fine.

A ban from driving for at least 5 years.

An extended driving test before you can get your driving licence back.

There are strict limits imposed for drivers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland:

35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

107 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine.

The legal limit for drivers in Scotland is lower across all 3 categories!

So remember as the festive season approaches, and you raise a glass in 3 months time to the back end of 2024, the implications you could face should you drive under the influence of alcohol, and this also means the the morning after whilst the alcohol can still be in your system. 

On average it takes approximately 1 hour for the body to break down 1 unit of alcohol, but this also depends on:

• Whether they are male or female
• Their age
• Their weight Amount of food they have eaten
• Whether or not they have taken any medication
• The rate at which their bodies turn food into energy (their metabolism)
• Whether or not their liver is healthy