excess alcohol

Drink drive prescribed limits are:

• 35mg per 100 ml breath
• 80mg of alcohol in 100 ml blood
• 107 mg of alcohol in 100 ml urine
  

A police officer may request a suspect to provide a roadside breath test if
he suspects a person is driving with excess alcohol.

A refusal to provide a specimen without reasonable grounds is a separate
offence.

Securing an acquittal

"Special Reasons" may apply in order to avoid disqualification in your
particular case. Examples include an emergency situation or if your drink
has been "laced". Often the Prosecution will make procedural errors
resulting in an acquittal. These could include:

1. Not providing a warning that failure to provide a specimen may
result in an acquittal (s7(7) RTA 1988).
2. The relevant forms (MGDD forms) are not admissible as freestanding
documents as they are hearsay, the prosecution sometimes do not make the
relevant application to adduce hearsay evidence in the contravention of the
Criminal Procedure Rules.
3. The reliability of the particular device used by the police can
sometimes be challenged using experts known to us.
4. CCTV footage of the procedure is sometimes no longer
available/destroyed and there is a potential abuse of process argument.

The above are a few examples of the myriad of potential procedural and
evidential problems that the prosecution face.

Maximum penalty

The Court must disqualify for at least 12 months and can sentence to up to 6
months imprisonment.

The Courts must disqualify for 36 months for a further offence within 10
years.