Safe Speed Forums

last night i just polished off 2 cans of fosters at my sisters & then left for home, i pulled out into traffic & accelerated hard towards the traffic lights, once i went over the lights i was pulled over, so i stoped etc & was put into the back of the police car.

they said that they had pulled me over for doing 45mph? i said, how do you know i was doing 45mph & the copper says,

"cos i was & you pulled out infront of me"

anyway, i got breathalised & couldn't blow hard/long enough & passed one

so i was taken to police station, i was took straight in & signed some papers etc & taken straight into the breath test machine room.

i blew into that machine as hard & as long as i could, i was even going red in the face & feeling really dizzy!

they still said that i wasn't blowing hard/long enough!

heres the results that i had on the print out..

time duration(seconds) volume(ltrs) brAC ug/100ml
01.18.36 --- 0.6 --- <0.1 ---- 034
01.19.16 --- 3.1 --- 0.9 ---- 036
01.20.00 --- 2.0 --- 0.6 ---- 027
01.20.40 --- 8.8 --- 2.7 ---- 037
it says "record of incomplete specimen(s)

they didnt take a blood sample or urine sample eather?

once i took that test & was finger printed & released with a court days of 20th this month... for failing a breath test...

but i blew for as long & hard as i could!

i wasn't hold in a cell for hours before or after the test, straight in & out. if i was under the influence of alcohol i would have been held over night right?

so then, is there anything i can at least try?

cheers people...

Did you fail the breath test, or fail to give a breath test?
I'm puzzled that you were allowed out without some other means of confirming that you had too much alcohol in your blood.

If you are not sure, then get some professional help, as you are getting into the realms of technicalities which require complete understanding (and knowledge) of the detail.
Sorry if I cannot be more precise.

_________________
Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

i failed to give enough breath to the machine.

this failing the "record of incomplete specimen(s)" receipt that i have & tried to type the results above.

As Ernest says, this is a technical matter and you really should seek professional legal advice.

This is a link to a firm of solicitors who specialise in this area.

However SafeSpeed is not a campaign about drink-driving and you are unlikely to find a great deal of sympathy here.

_________________
"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

As Peter says, the folk on this site are almost exclusively anti drink/drive. Before the flames start I am locking this thread. Irrespective of how you get on, I urge you to take responsibility for your actions on the road. There's plenty in here to help you do that.

edit: opened again on request of a member wishing to post advice.

The charge is effectively 'failure to blow'.

An anaemic dehydrated kitten could blow hard enough to trigger an intoximeter so, in the absence of any overriding medical evidence, they are going to do you if you do not blow to the requirements of the machine.

Presuming you are male, and presuming you are adult, then 2 cans of fosters should lead to a reading of approximately 28mg/100ml of breath, 1 hour from the completion of consumption (obviously this is an approximation based on typical 'persons' and does not accurately reflect anyone in reality).

Presuming you are being truthful about your consumption then you should have blown below the limit for driving (35mg/100ml breath) so the question to you is: Why did you decide to mess about and not blow properly into the machine when requested?

By doing so you have set yourself up for a bigger punishment, when you could have had none (if you're telling the truth about your consumption)!!

edit: that member wasn't me, but I welcome the opportunity!

And you can prove this?

But more seriously, this assumes that the machine was working and calibrated correctly and was being operated correctly.

_________________
Andrew.

I would disagree. I have been breathalised in the past and never been remotly near the limit. however I was much fitter then than now and I wondered when the guy would say stop blowing.

Now I dont work outside, or climb poles or cycle, yet I can blow 4 times the lung capacity of my father in law who is an asthmatic.

I am suprised you were not asked for another sample at the cop shop. But I don't know the law on this matter. I hope there would be a secondary check just in case the kit was faulty.

You need proper legal advice.
I barely drink any more. I would hope I never get banned for drink driving because my knee wobbled or I couldnt blow hard enough.

_________________
Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

AAUI a naturally expiring (as opposed to a deliberately cut-off/squeezed) breath has a characteristic reduction of volume and pressure. It is that, be it following a 40 second exhale from an opera singer or a 3 second wheeze from an unfit smoker, that makes the light come on to tell the policeman to say stop. It is the last part of the breath that the machine catches and analyses.

I have read some rubbish on motoring advice sites but this is the best yet.


It sure doesn't represent reality. You might like to look up the difference between mg (milligrams) and mcg (micrograms)

I too have been breathalised. In my case as part of JP training. I am near pension age but run marathons and climb mountains and I find it very difficult to blow hard enough.

Kind of crazy mental image though, isn't it? Couple of large police officers trying to get this kitten to give a breath sample...


mcg? Don't they write µg like everyone else?

_________________
Andrew.

The intoximeter requires 1.2 litres of air. Volume is not usually the problem as even asthmatics can manage that. Its the need to deliver it at a pressure sufficient to pass through the machine that defeats many people and not just those with lung problems.



Intoximeters are stated to accurately analyse partial specimens but deep lung air is likely to have the highest concentration which is why a full specimen is required.

Its much safer to use three characters than two so that even if the ink is running out or with poor handwriting there is no possibility of confusion.

for the op.


If you plead guilty you will be disqualified for at least 12 months and possibly 18.

If you plead not guilty and are found guilty the ban will be much the same but the fine will be higher.

If banned you will classed as a high risk driver and will not be allowed to have your licence back until you have convinced the DVLA that you don't have a drink problem.

Evidential breath testing is a complex thing and the police will have used a pre-printed form in an attempt to ensure that they don't mess it up. There is also likely to be a video of the whole procedure.

You will need a lawyer to sort it all out. Any magistrates court duty solicitor will be experienced at dealing with this sort of thing.

You are going to have an uphill struggle to win this one because the law is very tough on drink drivers. Correctly so in my opinion.



I do have some sympathy as you have fallen foul of a law which suggests that there is a safe level of alcohol for drivers.

Believe me there isn't. I have spent a lot of years in the front line of the NHS picking up the pieces after drink drivers, and quite a few years in court listening to a huge variety of very thin excuses.

When are we going to have a government with the courage and common sense to say that any alcohol is too much.

There is no evidence that low levels of alcohol lead to any increase in accident risk. And are you really advocating convicting people after eating a chocolate liqueur?

Arguing that "I have spent a lot of years in the front line of the NHS picking up the pieces after drink drivers, and quite a few years in court listening to a huge variety of very thin excuses" justifies reducing the legal limit is very like saying that because a car full of chavs went out of control at 70 mph on a stretch of road, the speed limit should be reduced from 40 mph to 30 mph.

_________________
"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

When we get one that says policemen do a better job than speed cameras perhaps?


Is there alcohol in Liqueur chocolates?
I have to agree with fisherman on this though, because circumstances from one case to another might mean that low levels of alcohol can have more affect in some people, than higher levels in others, depending on metabolism, meals, etc. and some people who are affected easily could get a way with taking a dangerous amount of alcohol under the present scheme of things.

France has revised it's drink driving laws, as well as prosecuting many more drivers in the light of their research.
The other area of concern appears to be drivers over the limit from the night before - only JUST over, but with gone unnoticed, and having just as detrimental affect as the higher levels the night before.

I suspect Wildy could quote chapter and verse on this.

_________________
Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

This is not the case because of the "Mellanby Effect" (try Googling for it) which means that the impairment associated with particular blood alcohol levels dissipates more quickly than the alcohol level itself. Someone who is just over the limit on the morning after poses less risk than someone just under the limit the night before.

_________________
"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

If you were really blowing so hard as to cause you to go red in the face, then you were blowing too hard and the Intoximeter would show this as a failure to blow correctly.

They are not obliged to.
A blood or urine sample only comes in to play if....

1. No automatic measuring device is available at the time of your arrest, or it is not working properly
2. The offence involves drugs and the police officer has taken medical advice that your condition may be due to drugs
3. The police officer making the request has reasonable cause to believe that breath samples should not be requested for health reasons

If you had managed to provide a proper specimen and the lower of the 2 readings was between 40 - 50µg, then (and only then) are the police obliged to request a blood or urine sample.


Wrong.


I'd sell your car and get used to public transport, because unless there is a genuine medical reason why you couldn't provide a breath sample then you are going to be on shanks' pony for at least 12 months.

_________________
What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

I've never been asked to take a breath test so I have no idea how hard it is, but I would have thought they would revert to a blood test if you couldn't complete the breath test?

I'm a tea-totaller when I'm driving because I know I have quite a low tolerance for alchohol. I'm not daft enough to expect everyone else to do the same, but it seems to me that the figures they gave you indicate that you were either very close to or perhaps over the limit, in which case you'll get no sympathy from me if they do throw the book at you.

_________________
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)