Drink Drive Case Notes

Compiled and edited by Pauline M. CallowSome 100,000 people are prosecuted each year for drink-drive offences. Suspects are required to give evidence against themselves by providing specimens of breath, blood or urine, while the legislation affords certain safeguards to counterbalance the powers of the police. These provisions have given rise to a wealth of case law, testimony to the reluctance of drivers to forfeit their licences and to the ingenuity of the arguments devised to challenge the system. Police and prosecutors seek to tighten their procedures, while creative lawyers look for chinks in their armour. The conviction rate is high, yet.