Police radios left on at breathe test

Convicted Driver Insurance

Steven1091986

New Member
Hi i am stupid enough to have driven after 2 beers and was pulled over blew 58 at police station. Was told to plead not guilty as i had drank the beers 6 hours before so they said machine was broken. Paid solicitor and medical report fees in excess of £3000 so far. The police officers radio flashes lots of times when im being tested my solicitor has said its meant to be turned off. And i should be due an aquittal does anyone know if this is true?
 
Faulty machine is likely to be a non starter because the machine calibrates itself before and after each set of tests. Who is to say your account is correct or that someone did not put some spirits in your 2 pints unknown to you (which in itself could amount to a defence) if you say “I didn’t drink that much“ and the machine said you did, you are most unlikely to succeed. Remember the “proof “ supplied in the medical report that the machine was faulty Is only based on what you told the medical expert so is only his opinion, not a fact.

As to the police radios, that is pure speculation. There is no real evidence to show that this DOES have an effect, it is just part of a smokescreen some defence companies use to try to raise doubt in the accuracy of the process.

“Asked by Mr Lund if he had any evidence that radios could interrupt the working of the machine, Dr Thrift said: “We have not had any instance where we have been able to record it.””

That is a quote from a defence “expert” giving evidence for the defence in the case of Ray Wilkins when he was accused of drink driving 7 years ago.


I wish you well but please do not continue to spent more money on even more theories that your solicitor will suggest as ways to avoid a conviction.....

And by the way, all his claims about “only 2 drinks” and police radio interference were not believed and he was convicted:


It is worth discussing this with your legal ‘expert’
 
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There is also this report from the Canadian society for Forensic science Journal, although it is about a different (by similar) machine to the ones used in the UK:
“Practical testing utilizing the operational protocol as outlined for the Breathalyzer technicians indicated that the probability of RFI resulting in inaccurate readings being presented to court was, for practical purposes, non-existent. If RFI were to occur, definite indications would be present making it detectable to a qualified Breathalyzer technician.”


Ask your expert to show you cases that have won on the basis of RFI from police radios... there are all sorts of claims about this being a real problem, but they mostly stem from the USA where everything is tried, including examining the source code for the programming of the breath test machines. They get away with it there, but it doesn’t wash in the UK.

there is also this case (an almost identical one with a reading of 52 and a claim to have only had 2 drinks) where the expert evidence on the reliability of the breath test machine in relation to interference from radios or phones was:

“Branding the idea that it had misread Pelly's alcohol levels twice as 'too incredible'.

She said: 'For it to affect two independent specimens to the exact same extent is to be too incredible.

'They are completely independent because they are two separate breath specimens.

'These are two separate breath specimens being analysed by the same hardware and coming up with the same result.'”


He was a ‘friend of royalty’, but nevertheless he was convicted as well!


Note 2 bits from the report:

1. But today District Judge John Zani ruled that there was no problem with the
device and Pelly, from Pimlico, central London was guilty of drink-driving.

2. “I am able to state that I am entirely satisfied that Mr Pelly has either
deliberately chosen to underplay the amount of alcohol that he consumed in
the period of time leading up to his arrest in the early hours… or his
memory has genuinely failed him.”

The next thing is that your solicitor will want to discuss their fees for representing you at your trial, the £3,000 spent so far is only on preparatory work, you can easily double that, or more for the trial, plus the £800 or so for the medical expert to attend if the prosecution do not accept his / her evidence.
 
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Or try this RESEARCH report, not speculation, that unreported RFI interferes with breath test results after studying 13 years worth of results:
“Additionally, no evidence is shown by the data that, in addition to those already detected by the instrument, hypothetical "undetected" RFI events affected either the calibration check results or the subject breath tests in this study.”


These FACTS will be presented by the prosecution in your costly trial. where your defence they up ‘smoke and mirrors’ to try to get you off.

I am just trying to give you a realistic view of the struggle you face, at YOUR expense, based on a solicitors optimism, on what seems to inevitably be a hopeless cause.
 
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To be honest i feel totally ripped off and they do just want more and more money. They said i have a strong case on medical report but the calibration certificate is valid and in date. I am a hgv driver so losing my license means losing my job home and much more. I just feel a fool
 
I feel for you. Sometimes there are genuine defences and I am always happy to help with them, on here or via private messages.. I am advising on 2 via PM at the moment that have genuine problems that can be advanced.
It annoys me that some of these companies promise that there IS a case, and then go fishing to see if there is. Someone posted on here a few weeks ago that they spent £6,000, and were then advised to plead guilty!
What I suggest to people who are offered these sure fire defences is to ask “OK, so will you take my case on a ‘no win no fee’ basis....?” And I bet I know what the answer will be!
 
I feel for you. Sometimes there are genuine defences and I am always happy to help with them, on here or via private messages.. I am advising on 2 via PM at the moment that have genuine problems that can be advanced.
It annoys me that some of these companies promise that there IS a case, and then go fishing to see if there is. Someone posted on here a few weeks ago that they spent £6,000, and were then advised to plead guilty!
What I suggest to people who are offered these sure fire defences is to ask “OK, so will you take my case on a ‘no win no fee’ basis....?” And I bet I know what the answer will be!
Can you pm i can give u all the details of what happened what i have been told etc. I have had 2 appearances at court the police wasnt there. They are asking for alot more money. In total its ammounting to about 8000 pounds
 
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