Drunk in charge of vehicle defence

[BooSaidTheGhost]

DP and I had a stupid row which turned into a loud and heated argument late at night last weekend. Slamming doors and shouting, police were called by a neighbour. This has never happened before. We have always been able to resolve disagreements relatively calmly and both agree this must never happen again. He is devastated about how he behaved and how much he upset me, and I feel the same. We'd both consumed alcohol, him more than me but neither of us drunk. He went outside into the garden at my insistence to get some air and calm down. It was lashing down with rain, very windy and he took shelter in his car which was parked directly in front of our house on a private lane. The alarm kept sounding so he sat in the driver's seat and put the key in the ignition to disable it but didn't switch on the engine. The vehicle maker's app on his phone connected to the car shows a record of the alarm sounding and what time. He then texted me to say he was extremely sorry, that the car alarm kept going off, he couldn't legally drive anywhere, and could he come into the house to sleep on the sofa in our lounge. I wasn't able to reply, that is the exact moment when the police arrived. He was breathalysed and found to be just above the limit. They arrested him and have charged him with being drunk in charge of a vehicle. My understanding of this is that there must be a reasonable belief the person intends to drive, is that correct? He categorically was not going to drive the car, he was preparing to come back into the house and would never have put himself or other people at risk. I told this to the officers as did he but they seemed uninterested. It seems ludicrous that for a few brief moments sheltering from awful weather in the car, cooling off after an argument and asking me if he come back in, as he said in his messages, turning off the car alarm they have concluded he was intending to drive. Is it worth trying to defend this? Local solicitors are quoting £2,400 to do so. We are terrified he'll lose his license which would make work/family life very hard, and that a record will cause issues at work, the nature of which means he has to have special security clearances.

I've detailed the circumstances exactly as they took place. None of this is 'codswallop'.

Once unlocked, the car has an auto-lock feature which kicks in after about 3 minutes if the key hasn't been put into the ignition. It's a security feature. Once locked, the alarm's sensor will detect any motion inside the vehicle and trigger the alarm. The only way to avoid this repeating and disable the alarm permanently is to put the key in the ignition. All of that is detailed in the manufacturer's car manual.

He knows it was stupid to go near the car, and if the charge hangs off the fact he was in the car with the key, then it's tough but fair. If it hangs off an intention to drive, I can't understand it. Thank you for all the advice. We will look for a suitable solicitor l.

There is no acceptable mitigation for drinking and driving.

There seem to be a lot of amateur lawyers on here saying you dont have a leg to stand on. i literally sent a link to the cps webpage that states a defence lol. why not have a read.

It is an offence but he needs to clearly state he was not driving and you to give a supporting statement with the times and facts including the argument, rain etc. He may be able to prove the engine wasn't started or car moved too. The police may not proceed, being very sorry will help his case

But he isn't drinking and driving

As for campervans, I have a hook that I hang my keys on in the back to demonstrate I have no intention of driving. Never put the keys in the ignition.

You linked to what is indeed the defence used by campervan owners - who yes, have in the past been charged with “drunk in charge” and have generally succeeded where they were tucked up under a duvet in the sleeping area or the campervan set up was such that there was demonstrably no intention of it being driven i.e. pop top roof open or awning attached. It’s not going to be a successful defence for a drunk man seated in the drivers’ seat with the keys in the ignition.

This happened to my colleague, very similar circumstances. She was banned from driving for a year.

I work for them batdad, and we have not had a single case in over 16 years that managed to convince the courts that they were innocent. Not one. So go ahead and waste your money op, you won't be the first or the last to do so.

The minute you sit in the driving seat of a car, intoxicated, and especially if you put the key in the ignition you are in charge of the vehicle.

I am wondering what kind of car you have that has an alarm that can't be turned off with a fob? Why did he need to put the key in the ignition? Why didn't he leave the car when the alarm continued? Why did he choose the car rather than somewhere else to shelter? Why didn't he go home? Knowing the police had already attended a domestic issue why would your dh then choose to go to the car, drunk? Can you tell me how the alarm is usually turned off? Can you describe to me why he didn't turn the alarm off and then remove the key immediately? Was the engine running at the time of arrest?

You have no chance, even if you get as far as being questioned in court as above.

The courts hear this stuff day in and day out.

Er, you don't need to be physically driving to be charged with this offence

I am aware of that @Kissingfrogs25

When you say 'I work for them' are you a criminal solicitor?

The auto lock works if the drivers door hasn't been opened, not if the keys haven't been put in the ignition.

Anyone driving whilst drunk can pull over immediately and claim they were just sleeping or resting etc and had no intention of driving if we were to change the laws surrounding this offence.

Same thing happened to an in law of mine. He’d actually removed his artificial leg but was still convicted and banned. !

I would rather not say what I do, just that op would be wise to save her money and not pursue this defence. It is not a defence for this offence.

Mitigation for those in Campervans are having keys in a box/pouch in living space, anti theft device on steering wheel, step placed outside the van, windscreen shades stuck on, being in pjyamas.

Er, you do have to be physically driving to be charged with drinking and driving. If you aren't driving, you can be charged with drunk in charge of a vehicle.
The actual point of this thread.

As a jnr I prosecuted hundreds of these cases.

i have of course heard of people being acquitted of the offence but never in the circumstances OP describes.

i’d be more interested in looking at his tests. You say he was only just over the limit. What happened at the police station when he was tested?

a specialist lawyer might identify a procedural anomaly that results in the case being dropped/an acquittal but it won’t be on basis there is as no intention to drive.

Yes, there are no exceptions, and some of the reasons/excuses can be quite extraordinary.
The onus is on all drivers to be aware of what constitutes being in charge of a vehicle.

Your best hope is the levels in his system are recorded are not too high, and the ban will be shorter and there is a drinking driving course he will be offered to reduce the length. It is not inexpensive, but well worth doing.

Does he have a record of his alcohol level op? You can probably work out how long the ban will be. Minus the course if he completes it.
You need to factor in a fine, a victim surcharge etc as well.

Perhaps it is time to consider what that evening cost you, and the damage it has done to your relationship, relations with your neighbours and now the impact of a ban. Situations like this can snowball.

It results in a ban!

The text messages just show what he told you, it what he was actually going to do.

Now in your case they are probably the same thing, but he could have sent the text saying he was going to sleep on the sofa to get you off his back, especially as it was such a heated argument the neighbours called the police, (not saying in your case just as an example) and then driven off somewhere. So they are not the strong defence you think they are.

Why did he even take his car keys outside?
You were arguing and shouting, you told him to stand outside to calm down, he was drunk... and he stopped to pick up his car keys? Even though he was just going outside to calm down.

I think he went out with the intention of driving, got in the car and realised he was too drunk but already had the key in the ignition and was drunk in charge of the vehicle.

His defence wont fly. Why would he have taken the keys out with him?

Drink driving and being drunk in charge of a vehicle are two separate offences.

This is the legislation. Road Traffic Act 1988 Part 1, section 5. It literally says that there is a defence.

Not sure the OPs husband could use it though.

That is literally what the quoted post says! You just repeated their point.

Yep I know someone who lost their license for sleeping in the car (rather than driving home) after drinking.