Drink driver who cannot stand

Whoops! Yeh.. I don't think that you're going to test under the limit somehow!

This police footage shows how a man who crashed his car could not even stand when he was arrested.

Robert Hutchinson was spotted by a member of the public driving his Nissan Almera erratically on the A281 heading towards Horsham at 5.45pm on Friday 30 January.

As the witness phoned police to describe what he could see, Hutchinson veered off the road, overcorrected and crashed head on into a Ford Ka heading south on the road at Mannings Heath.

The Ford span around and the Nissan ended up in bushes.

The driver of the Ford, a 42-year-old woman from Plummers Plain, suffered slight injuries. Hutchinson was not injured.

When police arrived they found Hutchinson was still sitting behind the wheel.

CCTV footage recorded inside Worthing custody centre shows how he fell off a chair and into a wall while waiting to be breathalysed. To watch the footage visit https://youtu.be/6q4nCjPakyQ.

He was so drunk that an officer had to help him to his feet and hold him up to stop him falling down again. Hutchinson was found to have 169 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millitres of his breath - almost five times the legal limit of 35 microgrammes.

The 59-year-old told police he had been drinking for several hours at home that afternoon but had decided to go shopping for food and then crashed his car.

He had already served a ban for drink-driving after being convicted in 2009 and did not have a driving licence.

Hutchinson, of Fir Tree Close, Plummers Plain, pleaded guilty to drink-driving, driving without a licence and driving without insurance when he appeared at Crawley Magistrates' Court on 23 February.

He was banned from driving for five years, given an 18-week suspended prison sentence, told to do 300 hours of community service and ordered to pay £85 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.

Chief Inspector Phil Nicholas, from Surrey and Sussex roads policing unit, said: "The footage shows just how drunk Hutchinson was, yet he thought that it was acceptable for him to drive in that condition.

"It is vital that we get people who think that it's ok to drink and drive off the roads.

"We need the public's help to tell us whenever they see someone who could be drink-driving so that we can act before someone is seriously hurt or even killed."

People in Sussex can text officers on 65999 with the details of people they suspect of drink or drug driving or visit www.operationcrackdown.co.uk.

You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

To keep up to date with officers looking for drink drivers, follow #opdragonfly on Twitter.

If you know someone is driving while over the limit or after taking drugs call 999.

New Legislation Introduced to Cut Scotland’s Drink Drive Alcohol Limit

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has introduced an order in Parliament which will mean that,

The plans will mean that Scotland’s blood alcohol limit will be reduced from 80mg in every 100 ml of blood, to 50 mg in every 100 ml of blood, the move would bring Scotland into line with most other European countries.
subject to approval, a reduced drink-drive limit will come into effect on December 5, 2014, in time for the festive period.

The move should bring many benefits including fewer road accidents and fewer casualties. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said:

“I have said before that I am determined we do everything we can to make our roads safer and save lives. Drink driving shatters families and communities and we must take action to reduce the risk on our roads. The latest estimates show that approximately one in ten deaths on Scottish roads involve drivers who are over the legal limit and research shows that even just one alcoholic drink before driving can make you three times as likely to be involved in a fatal car crash. As a result, 20 families every year have to cope with the loss of a loved one and around 760 people are treated for injuries caused by someone who thought it was acceptable to drink alcohol and get behind the wheel and drive. We cannot let this continue. That’s why I have today introduced legislation to lower the drink drive limit in Scotland so that, subject to parliamentary approval, new laws will be in place in time for the beginning of the festive period. This new limit will bring Scotland into line with most of Europe and send a clear message to drivers who continue to ignore the warnings that there is never an excuse to drink and drive. Getting behind the wheel after drinking can have fatal consequences, the advice is simple; if you have had any alcoholic drink whatsoever, don’t drive. No one should be drinking and driving and the new lower limit only reinforces what should already be the case with drivers taking full responsibility and not putting lives at risk. Lowering the drink drive limit will help make Scotland’s roads safer, it is the right thing to do, and most importantly, it will save lives meaning that fewer families have to go through the heartache of a loved one lost”.

Sandy Allan, RoSPA’s Road Safety Manager, Scotland said:
“RoSPA welcomes and strongly supports the Scottish Government’s decision to lower the drink-drive limit in Scotland, which we believe will save lives and prevent injuries on Scotland’s roads. There is a considerable body of research which shows that reducing drink-drive limits is effective in reducing drink-drive deaths and injuries. We would like to see the rest of the UK follow Scotland’s example.”

Total Alcohol Ban For New & Professional Drivers if Scotland Becomes Independent

If Scotland becomes independent then new and professional drivers could face tougher drink-drive rules than other motorists on the roads.

New drink-drive laws that are set to be introduced later this year will see the current limit of 80mg of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood slashed to 50mg, the equivalent of one pint of normal-strength beer or a small glass of wine. Combined with this if there is a Yes vote, Scotland may follow the example of other European countries and reduce the limit more for young and newly qualified motorists or taxi and HGV drivers. They may follow the example of Ireland who 3 years ago introduced a limit of 20mg per 100ml of blood for learner drivers and cab drivers. Such a low limit means that even one drink would put them over the limit. RAC’s Simon Williams said: “We question whether a more stringent limit for professional drivers is needed because the law should either deem it safe to drive with up to 50mg of alcohol in the blood or not, regardless of whether you are a professional or private driver, or experienced or inexperienced.” Many other agencies such as The Road Haulage Association said: “More stringent drink-driving regulations is something we support.”

Last night, the Scottish Government said: “Independence will allow all decisions on drink-driving policy to be taken in Scotland. This could include setting a lower blood/alcohol limit for young or newly qualified drivers or for those driving in a professional capacity – for example, taxi and HGV drivers.”

Approximately one in eight deaths on Scotland's roads involves drink driving. Even though currently one drink would not put you over the limit it would make you three times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident.

Could Police Tell if You've Been Drinking Simply by Firing a Laser at Your Car?

I have to admit when I first came across this piece of information I was skeptical. However it does seem to be being widely reported and so thought you all needed to know.  Police officers may soon have a powerful new tool to prevent drink drivers taking to the roads. A laser-based device has been developed in Poland that detects alcohol vapour inside a car as it passes by. This could catch drink drivers before they behave erratically

The system works by detecting tiny changes in the laser beam as it passes through vapour, Scientists tested the device by aiming its laser at a car passing by at a distance of up to 66ft (20m). The car's interior had been filled with alcohol vapour, simulating the exhalations of a drinker inside the vehicle, it is capable of detecting alcohol at concentrations as low as 0.1 per cent. Researchers admitted that the device would possibly also identify cars where the driver was sober but the passengers were not, or if there had been alcohol spilled in the car.

The laser system that was created by the Military University of Technology in Warsaw, is set up on the side of the road to monitor each car that passes by. If it detects alcohol vapours in the car, a message and a photo of the car, including its number plate, is sent to a police officer waiting down the road. That police officer will then stop the car and check for signs of alcohol using conventional tests. Even though the system may also stop cars where passengers were over the limit and not the driver it will still decrease the number of cars that have to be checked by police and, at the same time, will increase efficacy of stopping drunken drivers.’

‘We are already familiar with laser instruments used by the police for speed-limit enforcement,' said Marco Gianinetto of the Polytechnic University of Milan researcher commenting on the Polish research.‘Now these researchers have demonstrated how a laser device could be effectively used for detecting drunken drivers, and thereby helping to reduce the number of accidents caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol.

‘From the practical point of view, there seem to be some countermeasures, such as driving with windows open, solar screens on the side windows, etc., that can be applied by drivers to deceive the system,’ the authors wrote in their conclusion. However, such situations are very easily detected by the system, which sends this information to the policeman indicating that the car should be checked.’

Scotland Moves To Slash Drink-Drive Limit

Under proposals due to reach the Scottish Parliament in the next few weeks drinking a pint or a single glass of wine could soon put you over the legal driving limit.

At the moment it would take more than 80mg of alcohol in the bloodstream per 100ml to make you a drunk driver, under the new proposals the Scottish Government wants to reduce that to 50mg. The move would bring Scotland into line with Germany, France and Spain. However it would create a situation where crossing the Scottish border after consuming one drink could lead to a drink-driving conviction, when you would have been driving legally in England.

The proposals have been welcomed by many families of those injured or killed by drunk drivers. Stacey Muldoon, a 23-year-old mother from Lanarkshire, was killed in 2008. Her sister, Leigh Payne, believes lowering the limit will prevent many other deaths. "We're coming into line with most of Europe and some of America. I think that people will now realise that it's not acceptable to have a drink . Physically ordering a drink and drinking it with your dinner you cannot do with 50mg."

Thirty people are killed on Scottish roads each year as a result of alcohol, 150 are injured and almost 7,500 people are convicted of drink-driving. The Scottish Government says lowering the limit is a priority. Yet it has been two years since it first consulted on the issue and, as a devolved matter, it does not require legislative action by Westminster. The Scottish Government said it hopes to introduce a bill affecting the change some time in August.
A spokesperson said: "We are working with Police Scotland and the UK Government to prepare for a lower limit, including obtaining the necessary type approvals for the devices used by the police to test drivers.
"As a lower limit cannot be brought in until the necessary approvals are obtained through the UK Government, we have made clear to the UK Government that we view introducing a lower limit in Scotland as a key priority which we want to introduce as soon as possible."