Drug Driving Offence

Is it an offence to take a drug and then drive?

It is not a criminal offence as such to take a drug and then drive a motor vehicle. However it is a criminal offence to drive a motor vehicle on a road or other public place if you are unfit to drive through drink or drugs (as per section 4 (1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988).

Accordingly the prosecution must prove that you were unfit to drive through drink or drugs.

A person shall be taken to be unfit to drive through drugs if his ability to drive properly is for the time being impaired (as per Section 4(5) of the Road Traffic Act 1988).

It is also essential that the prosecution establish that there was a drug in the person's system (i.e. blood) and that this was the cause of the impairment.

How will the prosecution prove that I was unfit to drive?

The prosecution will seek to prove that you were unfit to drive by calling evidence from the arresting officer. The officer will be asked to give evidence to the court regarding the manner of your driving and your demeanour upon arrest.

A strong case will include evidence of bad driving such as: -

• driving too fast or too slow
• deviating from the lane
• late braking
• turning too wide on corners
• not putting lights on at night
• failing to comply with traffic lights or signs
• taking too long to pull away from the lights
• etc.

In addition to this the prosecution will want to adduce evidence that you were displaying the symptoms of being under the influence of drugs such as: -

• pupils being dilated or constricted
• bloodshot - watery eyes
• sweating profusely
• being unsteady on your feet
• mental confusion (not being able to carry out the officer's instructions)
• speech being slurred
• etc.

The police will have the accused carry out a series of field impairment tests - sobriety tests. The accused performance on the test will be crucial in establishing his or her level of impairment if any. If you perform badly without god reason the prosecution will state that this is evidence of you being under the influence of a drug and therefore being unfit to drive a motor vehicle.

The Field Impairment Tests are explained in detailed here

Of course what underpins everything is the prosecution's ability to establish that there was a drug in your system i.e. blood. This will be done by the police taking a sample of your blood or urine and having it tested for the presence of drugs.

The prosecution will call evidence from the toxicologist who examined your blood or urine sample to state; what drug was found to be present, the amount, whether the amount is consistent with recent usage and the known affects (if any) that the drug has on an individuals ability to drive properly.

As can be seen there is a lot for the prosecution to prove and accordingly there is a lot of opportunity for the defence to successfully challenge the prosecution's case.

Call our Motoring Law Specialist today for a free initial consultation without obligation on 0333 011 0515. Our services are available throughout the North West including Liverpool, Wirral, Merseyside and St Helens.

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Sentencing for Drug Driving

In the event of a conviction for driving under the influence of drugs the court must endorse the defendant's licence and disqualify for at least 12 months unless special reasons exist.

Ask our Motoring Law Specialist today if special reasons exist in your case.

The court will also impose a financial penalty and in serious cases the court can consider a sentence to be carried out in the community or a prison term of up to 6 months.

Even in the event of a guilty plea specialist mitigation from our Motoring Law Specialist may significantly reduce any period of disqualification and keep you away from other forms of sentences such as unpaid work or prison.