Drink driving

[Hohofortherobbers]

Wider family member has been stopped drink driving. Blew 145mg at roadside in the morning, what is likely to be the consequences? It's a first offence (although obviously can't be the first time the idiot has done this).
Also, I am horrified that amount is on a breathalyser, however much is likely to have been drunk the night before? I can only see blood alcohol calculators online to estimate this and the 145mg is on the breath.
I am not aware there is an alcohol problem but surely this must a huge amount of alcohol and a tolerance has to have built up. Trying to work out out what this person might be about to face, both legally and emotionally

The breath limit is 35 microgrammes so 145 mg is absolutely HUGE and the consequences could be too.
www.gov.uk/drink-driving-penalties

Driving or attempting to drive while above the legal limit or unfit through drink
You may get:

6 months’ imprisonment
an unlimited fine
a driving ban for at least 1 year (3 years if convicted twice in 10 years)

and they deserve everything they get!

Even though it's a first offence the fact is they are four times over the limit. I would be very surprised if they only got a year's ban. The sentencing guidelines suggest a much lengthier ban and possibly a community or prison sentence. www.drinkdriving.org/news/drink-driving-penalties/new-drink-driving-penalties-24042017/

I used to work with people with alcohol problems. The fact that your relative has such a high reading does suggest an alcohol problem. People don't need to be drinking every day to have a problem.

Thanks for the replies. I'm grateful this has happened now before an innocent person was hurt.
Just wanted to get an idea of how much alcohol was involved. If a bottle of wine was drunk 8 hours previously what would a breath reading be? So I have some kind of gauge to estimate. Think we've been lied to a lot and I don't expect the truth even now

A bottle of wine consumed 8 hours previously would not lead to a reading of 145mg.

Although I would advise not drinking anything prior to driving, an average sized man could possibly drink up to 4 units before being over the limit. Your body gets rid of approximately one unit of alcohol a hour. A bottle of average strength wine is about 10 units. So if you drank it over the course of an evening and then drove 8 hours after the last glass you would be unlikely to be over the limit. Everyone is different though.

To be 4 times over the limit you would have to drink an awful lot of alcohol. Eg downing 2 bottles of wine and driving straight away. Or several.pints of beer.

Your relative really sounds as though he/she has a alcohol problem.

Thank you, that's what I'm thinking too, we've been told so many lies it's impossible to get at the truth.

IME as a JP drink drivers' claims about what they have drunk and when rarely match up with the readings obtained. A breath reading of 145 is over 4x the legal limit so is very high and the staring point is a 12 week prison sentence. Having said that such a sentence may be suspended, or an electronically tagged curfew might be imposed instead. The disqualification period (first offence) will be 29 - 36 months and this can be reduced by undertaking a drink-drive course (the court will provide information). The licence will not be returned automatically because of the high reading, DVLA will almost certainly require a medical before returning the licence.

Goodness, that's 'sobering' to read! Understandable sentencing when the consequences could have been so tragic though. It will never excuse or explain this, but are there ever any mitagating circumstances considered, such as a recent traumatic life event? This relative will argue this, although I don't condone it

Courts are not particularly sympathetic to 'traumatic life events' in drink drive cases because while these might explain the drinking they cannot explain or excuse driving a car while knowingly drunk. Pleading guilty at first opportunity will reduce the penalty (eg prison/curfew) but not the disqualification period. Probably best to get a solicitor to speak on the defendant's behalf given the level of alcohol and possibility of custodial sentence.

After the roadside test he should have been arrested and taken to the police station where another test would have been administered. The reading from that test is the one that will be used to determine sentence.

There is a breath alcohol calculator at www.lifeloc.com/calculator.

Mitigating circumstances are always considered by magistrates but a 145mg roadside breath test is very high and there’s no way the person will avoid a ban. I sit in mags courts day in,day out and most drink drivers blow somewhere between 38 and 100. 145 would probably be in the highest 10 per cent that I see. It’s in the realms of people who have been drinking all day and all evening then getting in a car and driving home.

Just updating, relative got 2 years ban, 6k fine and a 3 day course to attend. Also started going to AA, hoping that continues and it wasn't just an attempt to look good in front of the magistrate. Time will tell.

I see a lot of drunk drive stuff through work and even as a first offence I would expect to see four times over the limit receiving a three year ban.

I would say prison is unlikely, although not unprecedented. If your relative is genuinely remorseful, get them to get some character references and go to court smartly dressed and repentant. It will depend on the magistrates obviously , but that should help. If they aren't showing remorse, I'd leave them to it......

Thanks for the reply, but it was just an update with the court result, see above. Thank you for your advice though

Ohsorry
And I read most of the thread too! That'll teach me to read until the end

Glad the result is ok though