... A crime not worth the risk
There are many reasons why you must avoid drinking and driving. Apart from the obvious risk of endangering yourself and others, you are also at risk of heavy fines and even imprisonment. This is because unlike many other driving offences such as speeding or failing to abide traffic signs, drink driving is a crime. This means that if you are convicted of drink driving you will have a criminal record.
Drink Driving is an offence under the Road Transport (Safety & Traffic Management) Act 1999(NSW). In New South Wales, it is an offence to do any of the following where there is a prescribed concentration of alcohol in a person's blood:
- Drive a motor vehicle.
- Be seated behind the wheel and attempt to put the vehicle in motion.
- Be the holder of a driver's license and sit beside a learner's license holder who is driving the vehicle.
There are effectively five categories of "prescribed concentration of alcohol" (PCA) offences. These are divided according to the grams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood:
- "Novice range": under 0.012
- "Special range": between 0.02-0.05
- "Low range": 0.05-0.08
- "Middle range": 0.08-0.15
- "High range": over 0.15
Each category of offence has its respective set of penalties. Penalties may include fines of up to $5,000, automatic license suspension and imprisonment for up to 2 years. Generally speaking, the more alcohol you consume, the more serious your offence.
The breath sample
Any person driving a motor vehicle on a road must stop and provide a breath sample to Police when directed to do so. It is imperative that you stop and comply with the police officer's directions. It is an offence if you refuse a direction from a police officer to provide a breath sample.
Once the police obtain the breath sample and the results indicate a level of alcohol over the prescribed limit, the police may arrest you and use such force as necessary to take you to a police station.
The police station
At the police station a "breath analysis" will be carried out. The breath analysis reading provides the legal basis for being charged for an offence under the relevant PCA category. It is important to know that the analysis must be conducted within 2 hours of driving. Once again, it is an offence to refuse to submit to this breath analysis and the penalties are severe.
After the breath analysis, you will ordinarily be released from the police station on unconditional bail. The police, however, may request that you sign a "bail undertaking," with certain conditions prior to your release. You will also be notified of the day when your matter will be heard before the local court and you must attend court on that day.
When you do not have to submit to a breath test
Police cannot force you to undergo a breath test or breath analysis when you are at your "usual place of abode." This generally means the place that is considered part of your ordinary living facilities. It is up to the court's discretion to determine whether the police confronted you at your usual living quarters. There may be situations where a court finds that an area is part of your normal living quarters despite popular convention, such as where a place has physical contiguity to your main resident and its use is incorporated in the use of the building by you as part of your ordinary living facilities. For instance, a car park that is adjacent and physically removed from the main structure of your residential building may still be considered your "usual place of abode." This is because it may form part of the overall structure that constitutes your residential building complex.
In the court room
In determining your penalty or sentence, the court will consider a number of significant factors, including whether you have committed any prior offences of a similar nature. Other offences such as negligent or dangerous driving and infringements such as speeding will also influence the severity of your penalty or sentence. Repeat offenders are treated quite seriously and will most likely suffer heavy sentences such as imprisonment, especially if the offences have occured repeatedly within a five-year span.
Under section 10 of the Road Transport (Safety & Traffic Management) Act , the court has the discretion to find a person guilty of an offence but not record a conviction. An order under this provision means that you may retain your license despite having been charged guilty. Such circumstances are quite rare and may apply for first time offenders who have had sound driving records for a long period of time.
No time for crime
The health, safety and criminal consequences of drinking and driving, makes it a crime that our society and legal system simply does not tolerate as simply a "social slip up". This must be particularly kept in mind during the height of festivities such as Christmas, New Year, Easter and public holidays, where a few too many could cause a lifetime of regret. The law does not tolerate such behaviour and neither should you.
