We are often asked whether the police really do ever make mistakes in procedures that they carry out often.
We have had an interesting case recently which proves that mistakes can happen, and shows that not everyone charged with drink driving is guilty of the offence.
Julie contacted our offices recently in a state of distress. She had been charged with drink driving and given a Court date. She was adamant that she should’t have been over the limit – she’d had just a single drink and had waited an hour after drinking it before she drove.
She felt fine and there had been no concerns over her driving. She was stopped because she was driving slowly, late at night; something that Julie said was actually due to her being in an unfamiliar area and trying to work out the correct road to turn onto.
At the police station, a blood sample was taken from her.
The legal blood alcohol limit is 80. Anything over that will result in you being over the limit, and charged with drink driving.
The magistrates’ guidelines go as far as 345, meaning that most people are expected to have readings of 345 or under. Indeed, for someone to have a reading anywhere near this high, the Court will be concerned that serious alcohol abuse issues are present. Most people could not reach an alcohol reading this high and be alive, never mind driving.
Imagine our surprise, then, when Julie informed us that her reading was 999,999.
A blood reading of nearly 1 million!
Clearly, something had gone wrong.
Fortunately, with our experience as drink drive solicitors, we were able to liaise with the prosecution and stop this absurd case ever reaching the Court, something that Julie was very grateful for.
Perhaps this story should be told to anyone who believes ‘there’s no smoke without fire’!
