Drinking and driving cannot go together, because driving in drinking state is against the law and you might have to face serious consequences for driving in a drunken state. It is illegal for a driver to drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Usually, police use breathalyzer to check BAC “Blood Alcohol Concentration” of your body. The BAC should be zero and in case of value other than zero, you are breaking law while driving in such state. In drunken state, you cannot drive any vehicle including motor vehicle, bicycles, boat or Jet Ski.
Police Action against Drinking and Driving
If the police catches you in a drunken state, your driving license will be suspended for next 24 hours, and during these 24 hours, you are not allowed to drive your car to go anywhere. If you still caught driving after getting charged against drinking and driving, you have to face serious offences. Following are some drinking and driving offences that will lead you to the suspension of driving license for more than 24 hours:
- Your BAC is 0.10 percent or more (highest alcohol limit) and you are still driving your car.
- You are not giving your breath specimen or blood sample to police for analysis of BAC level.
- You are driving even after getting charged for the drinking and driving, this may lead you to the courtroom. In this case, you can get a special driving license to go to the court only before getting your own license back.
What Police Can Do with a Drunken Driver?
If the police caught you driving under the influence of alcohol, they may ask about:
- Your name and address.
- Ask about your driving license.
- Take your road side breath test.
- Get a doctor to take your blood sample for blood test.
- Take breath test at police station
You have to Cooperate with Police, because it will be an Offence if you:
- Do not give your name and address.
- Refuse to take breath test at roadside and at the police station.
- Refuse to give blood sample for blood test.
What will be happened in Court?
If you are convicted to drive under the influence of alcohol, your driving license will be canceled for at least one month or more specifically for the motor vehicle. You have to face serious charges in case of refusal to provide breath and blood samples for the test. The cancellation period for the driving license will be based on the over limit of alcohol in your body. You have to hand over your driving license to the concerned person, because keeping a cancelled driving license with you is also an offense. Along with license disqualification, you may be fined or for high readings or repeating offences, you may have sent to jail for a specific period of time.
BAC equal to or more than 0.15 percent and failing to provide breath and blood sample are major offences. Try to avoid major offences as much as possible, because three major offences within five years will send you behind the bar. For more information and help on drinking and driving offences, visit http://ernstashurovlaw.com/drinking-and-driving-offences/.