We are delighted to confirm the acquittal of a client who
was charged with being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle and using a mobile
phone whilst driving.
This was a very strange case. Our client had gone to a
meeting in a local pub and parked his car outside. Having realised he had
drunk too much to drive he called a friend to come to the pub to give him a
lift home. Unfortunately, he did this whilst he was sitting in the car
outside the pub with the engine running. Police Officers arrived and saw
him with his phone in his hand.
You may wonder why he was sitting in the car?
He simply did not realise he would be committing an offence as most people would not as the car was not moving. There were very serious legal issues here as to whether he could be committing the offence of being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle and using a mobile phone whilst the car is stationary. One of the important things was that he had no intention to move the vehicle whilst he was likely to have been over the legal limit.
When the police officers breathalysed him, he was over the legal limit and taken to the police station. When he arrived at the station he did notice that the calibration sticker on the machine was out of date. This would have been a very important issue but fortunately after representations were made the prosecution discontinued both charges before trial.
If you have any difficulties in relation to these types of cases then please contact us and we will be delighted to help.
Find our more about how our motoring solicitors can help you with drink driving charged.
