Remember that DGT advertisement, back in 1985, in which Steve Wonder, from the back of his convertible, sang to us: “DOOOOON’T, DRIVE, DRUNK”, finishing with the same message translated with a special accent: “If you drink, noooo, conduskassss”. It was a very successful campaign.
I don’t intend singing any songs here, but by the end of this article I would like you to tell your relatives, friends, colleagues and employees: “Hey, for the next business dinner, we better go by taxi”.
According to the National Institute of Statistics, in 2016 a total of 271,526 adults were formally convicted of a crime. Of these, 23.8% were related to road safety. Do the sums: 64,623.18 convictions in 1 year; it is the most repeated crime in the Courts. And I would say that more than 50% of convictions, maybe around 40,000, are for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. More than 100 convictions a day.
The work of lawyers in these types of matters is limited. The truth is that there are few defense strategies. This doesn’t seem a bad thing, given the seriousness of the behavior, but we should reduce this quantity of convictions.
Any of us might find ourselves in a situation where we underestimate the effects of alcohol and get behind the wheel in conditions which are, let’s say, “inadequate”, after a business dinner. When we turn the first corner, we find the police. And if we are off-tune with the handheld breathalyzer and exceed the 0.60 mg / l we are ready, booked, vehicle immobilized and off to Court.
What will happen in the Court?
When a lawyer arrives at the Court the first thing they do is to go for the police report. The result of the blood alcohol tests must be analyzed. If the rate does not exceed 0.63 mg / l, BINGO, we have the possibility of an acquittal, on the grounds of the margins of error with the testing mechanisms. Today, it seldom happens. The prosecutor’s office refines it for you.
We also review the symptoms report prepared by the police. If there is some good fortune and the agent has not been very careful in describing our behavior we can take advantage of this. If on the contrary he has pinned it in “he walks with difficulty, he slurs his words, his eyes are glazed, he asks the same thing repeatedly … he does not know”, there will be a conviction.
Being unable to drive for more than half a year is a difficult change to assimilate in our lives, so remember: “IF YOU DRINK, DON’T DRIVE”, loud and clear.