Attempting to drive while intoxicated.

Convicted Driver Insurance

Chitova

New Member
I was recently charged with attempting to drive whilst alcohol above limit. The facts are as follows
I parked on a hard shoulder unknowingly since I came from a foreign country where there are no such issues. The police came and asked if I was fine and I was fine. They took a breath test which came at 54 then took me to the police station and took another that came at 51. I was charged with hard shoulder offense and attempting to drive against the fact that I was sleeping in the car and had taken 2 alcoholic drinks to rest. I'm due for court soon. Any advise regarding lawyers and my chances ? I had keys n sleeping on the driver's seat hence the charge.
 
You will be charged with drunk in charge of a vehicle (which you were.)

No way around that I'm afraid.
 
They may make a case for actual drink driving as it was pretty evident you did, or were intending to drive while over the limit. It will depend on things like CCTV etc I would imagine. I'd check what the actual charge is and then decide on legal advice as it can be expensive.
 
Chitova said:
I was recently charged with attempting to drive whilst alcohol above limit. The facts are as follows
I parked on a hard shoulder unknowingly since I came from a foreign country where there are no such issues. The police came and asked if I was fine and I was fine. They took a breath test which came at 54 then took me to the police station and took another that came at 51. I was charged with hard shoulder offense and attempting to drive against the fact that I was sleeping in the car and had taken 2 alcoholic drinks to rest. I'm due for court soon. Any advise regarding lawyers and my chances ? I had keys n sleeping on the driver's seat hence the charge.
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Luna2000 said:
You will be charged with drunk in charge of a vehicle (which you were.)

No way around that I'm afraid.
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'No way around that'? Why? He said he took the drinks to sleep, after he stopped driving. So there's a possible hip-flask defence. Also how can they prove he intended to drive if he was sleeping? And if he is a foreigner, and doesn't speak English as a native language, they better be sure they offered him a translator at the police station. I'd get a good lawyer in this case.
 
Technically yes, in reality, I doubt he'll escape at very least a ban. If he has a large budget for legal representation then yeah he might make the hip flask defence work. Let us know how you get on mate.
 
anemone said:
'No way around that'? Why? He said he took the drinks to sleep, after he stopped driving. So there's a possible hip-flask defence. Also how can they prove he intended to drive if he was sleeping? And if he is a foreigner, and doesn't speak English as a native language, they better be sure they offered him a translator at the police station. I'd get a good lawyer in this case.
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Not really. He was in the car and the keys were with him. People have been convicted of Drunk in Charge who have hidden the keys under the wheel outside the car. If he had been sleeping in the passenger side seat then perhaps there would be a case to make, but he wasn't. It will also be difficult to prove a 'hipflask' defence given the empty drink containers were in the car.

Even if you don't speak the language, you still need to abide by the law. Ignorance of the law is no defence.

I cannot comment on what happened at the station as this hasn't been mentioned.

Oh, and people driving Motorhomes who have parked up and had a drink but still have the keys on them have been charged with Drunk in Charge.
 
The only way he might use the hip flask defence was if it managed to persuade a magistrate that he stopped for a rest, had a few drinks and intended to stay put the rest of the night before driving again sober.. quite a substantial ask I think.
 
Luna2000 said:
Not really. He was in the car and the keys were with him. People have been convicted of Drunk in Charge who have hidden the keys under the wheel outside the car. If he had been sleeping in the passenger side seat then perhaps there would be a case to make, but he wasn't. It will also be difficult to prove a 'hipflask' defence given the empty drink containers were in the car.

Even if you don't speak the language, you still need to abide by the law. Ignorance of the law is no defence.

I cannot comment on what happened at the station as this hasn't been mentioned.

Oh, and people driving Motorhomes who have parked up and had a drink but still have the keys on them have been charged with Drunk in Charge.
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"Even if you don't speak the language, you still need to abide by the law. Ignorance of the law is no defence."
It's not a question of the driver's 'ignorance of the law'. It's a question of the police having to abide by Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, Code C, sections 7 and 13, with respect to detaining and interviewing foreign nationals.
 
jamesbrown1 said:
They may make a case for actual drink driving as it was pretty evident you did, or were intending to drive while over the limit. It will depend on things like CCTV etc I would imagine. I'd check what the actual charge is and then decide on legal advice as it can be expensive.
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The charge is attempting to drive while intoxicated
 
Don't know too much about the legal aspects of that, but the link below at least attempts to explain it. Looks pretty much the same aa standard drink drive, hence Guy was correct.

Driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol or while unfit

Drink driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol or while unfit through drink or drugs. What is attempting to drive? Can the Police carry out random breath tests? What is the difference between driving with excess alcohol and while unfit?
www.drinkdrivinglaw.co.uk www.drinkdrivinglaw.co.uk
 
Guygibson said:
Forget the hip flask path forget getting a lawyer just use the duty plea guilty you were sat in a car over the limit save yourself alot of money
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Are you a cop? Or have you just forgotten that one is innocent until proven guilty in this country. Why are so many on here so openly hostile to the idea of defending oneself? If he has a potential defence why should he not use it? A criminal record and 12+ month ban is a huge deal for most people. Is it not worth fighting for your reputation and livelihood if you have a fighting chance?
 
anemone said:
Are you a cop? Or have you just forgotten that one is innocent until proven guilty in this country. Why are so many on here so openly hostile to the idea of defending oneself? If he has a potential defence why should he not use it? A criminal record and 12+ month ban is a huge deal for most people. Is it not worth fighting for your reputation and livelihood if you have a fighting chance?
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Anemone; you are really quite aggressive and confrontational on this feed.

To the OP: The charge will be “in charge of a vehicle whilst under the influence….”
In such cases you have to prove that you were not planning to drive whilst under intoxication. Unfortunately having the keys in your possession goes against you.
In addition, parking on the hard shoulder is an offence and not knowing the UK driving laws because you are not from here is no defence.
 
anemone said:
Are you a cop? Or have you just forgotten that one is innocent until proven guilty in this country. Why are so many on here so openly hostile to the idea of defending oneself? If he has a potential defence why should he not use it? A criminal record and 12+ month ban is a huge deal for most people. Is it not worth fighting for your reputation and livelihood if you have a fighting chance?
Click to expand...

anemone said:
Are you a cop? Or have you just forgotten that one is innocent until proven guilty in this country. Why are so many on here so openly hostile to the idea of defending oneself? If he has a potential defence why should he not use it? A criminal record and 12+ month ban is a huge deal for most people. Is it not worth fighting for your reputation and livelihood if you have a fighting chance?
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Are you a solicitor 😄 hes guilty jesus the courts have heard every excuse in the book to do with drink driving and they don't take one bit of notice.
What they do take notice of are facts you were caught behind the wheel of a motor vehicle intoxicated the end.
 
jamesbrown1 said:
The only way he might use the hip flask defence was if it managed to persuade a magistrate that he stopped for a rest, had a few drinks and intended to stay put the rest of the night before driving again sober.. quite a substantial ask I think.
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I
jamesbrown1 said:
They may make a case for actual drink driving as it was pretty evident you did, or were intending to drive while over the limit. It will depend on things like CCTV etc I would imagine. I'd check what the actual charge is and then decide on legal advice as it can be expensive.
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They charged me with 'attempting to drive while alcohol over limit' but I didn't do any attempt and at police their wording was drunk in charge but they then changed the charge. Isn't this a technicality I can exploit in defense?
 
Luna2000 said:
Not really. He was in the car and the keys were with him. People have been convicted of Drunk in Charge who have hidden the keys under the wheel outside the car. If he had been sleeping in the passenger side seat then perhaps there would be a case to make, but he wasn't. It will also be difficult to prove a 'hipflask' defence given the empty drink containers were in the car.

Even if you don't speak the language, you still need to abide by the law. Ignorance of the law is no defence.

I cannot comment on what happened at the station as this hasn't been mentioned.

Oh, and people driving Motorhomes who have parked up and had a drink but still have the keys on them have been charged with Drunk in Charge.
Click to expand...
At the station the policeman started by taking a breath test after advising of my right to refuse. After taking it he then asked if I needed a solicitor and I said yes but no solicitor called as they had promised then he asked me questions as he was filling in some documents and took me to a cell for 4 hours to enable alcohol to be within normal levels. They were talking of me being drunk in charge but on the charge paper it was a charge of attempting to drive while intoxicated
 
Chitova said:
At the station the policeman started by taking a breath test after advising of my right to refuse. After taking it he then asked if I needed a solicitor and I said yes but no solicitor called as they had promised then he asked me questions as he was filling in some documents and took me to a cell for 4 hours to enable alcohol to be within normal levels. They were talking of me being drunk in charge but on the charge paper it was a charge of attempting to drive while intoxicated
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There's a legal side to this site, might be worth asking the experts, the whole situation does sound highly disorganised on the part of the police, but proving it might be difficult.
 
Chitova said:
At the station the policeman started by taking a breath test after advising of my right to refuse. After taking it he then asked if I needed a solicitor and I said yes but no solicitor called as they had promised then he asked me questions as he was filling in some documents and took me to a cell for 4 hours to enable alcohol to be within normal levels. They were talking of me being drunk in charge but on the charge paper it was a charge of attempting to drive while intoxicated
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Are you a foreign national? Did they inform you of your right to contact your embassy and request legal assistance?
 
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