What is the law on drink driving?

The law on drink driving falls under the law on road traffic offences. It is a complex area of law as there are many potential offences (drink driving criminal record) and drink driving penalties. In relation to drink driving, this article will concentrate on the main offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and 1998. If you have been charged with a drink driving offence, you are advised to contact a solicitor who specialises in criminal law for legal advice as soon as possible. More about legal drink drive limit and find what is a drink driving disqualification.
The legal limit of alcohol in your system while driving a vehicle is 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. If you kill someone whilst driving under the influence of alcohol, you will be convicted of causing death by careless driving under the influence of drink or drugs. This offence is subject to the most serious drink driving penalties; you can be sentenced to 14 years in prison and may face an unlimited fine. In addition, you will be automatically disqualified for two years or more, and you will have to resit your driving test before you are allowed to drive again.

The next two offences with serious drink driving penalties are driving or attempting to drive while unfit through drugs or alcohol and driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol. It is possible to be prosecuted for attempting to drive whilst under the influence of alcohol even if you are not successful as your intention was to drive illegally. The drink driving penalties for these offences can include six months imprisonment, a fine of up to £5,000 and automatic disqualification. If you have been convicted of another alcohol related offence in the ten years before your drink driving offence, you will face harsher drink driving penalties, including a minimum of three years disqualification.

As well as the legal consequences and drink driving penalties for being convicted of a drink driving offence, the conviction will affect other areas of your life as well. You may lose your job, your insurance premiums will dramatically increase when you are able to drive again, you may face visa restrictions, you will have to attend a rehabilitation course, and you will have a criminal record attached to your licence for 11 years.

For further legal advice on the law on drink driving, you can speak a solicitor who specialises in criminal law. Your solicitor will assess your situation and inform you of your options, including how to minimise the drink driving penalties you receive. They can then represent you in court or engage the help of a criminal law barrister if necessary. Remember to keep in mind legal drink drive limit and what is a drink driving disqualification.