Any person convicted of driving with excess alcohol or driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs faces automatic disqualification and, in serious cases risk imprisonment.
If you have been charged with driving with excess alcohol, the Prosecution will have to prove that you were driving with excess alcohol in your breath, urine or blood.
If a roadside breath test provides a positive reading, the driver will be arrested and taken to a police station where a further “evidential test” is required. Refusal to provide a specimen without reasonable grounds is a separate offence.
There are a number of rules governing the correct operation of every breathalyser machine and any police officer using the machine must have the appropriate training. If the correct procedure is not adhered to, the prosecution may not be able to rely upon the reading in court, and you could be found not guilty. You may be unsure if you have a defence based on the facts of your case or if you have a defence due to a procedural technicality. To see if there is any way of defending the prosecution, we consider the evidence in your case before providing you with our views of the merits of defending or pleading guilty.
Alcohol offences
