Drunk in charge

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

How close to a vehicle would you have to be for a police officer to arrest you for being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle?

As it happens i know the answer. :wink:

2

Is the answer, the officer can prove intent to drive said motor vehicle?

3

is it something like " keys in the ignition " :question: :question: :question: :question: :question:

4

I believe it was measured at 18.75m.

5

don’t think there is a distance, just having the keys on you means your in charge, now they would have prove that you were going to drive and that the difficult bit :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

6

limeyphil:
How close to a vehicle would you have to be for a police officer to arrest you for being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle?

As it happens i know the answer. :wink:

prob gone done for drink driving with another of your amazing stories, doubt you even drive a truck shouldnt you be in the scrubs or ville for all your dodgey jobs you do

7

I got done for this when I was 17 12 years ago, I was sitting in the passenger seat keys in ignition. I was told that if my friend held the keys the case would of been alot more clear cut (would of got off easy)

As it happens I got away with it due to technicalities. So to answer your question speaking from experience unless the law has changed since then, I would say it does not matter unless you have the keys on you ? As I was told you can sleep in the back of your car if you haven’t the keys on you ?

8

What about being aleep on the back seat (of a car)? I thought you could get done for this as well.

9

bazza123:
What about being aleep on the back seat (of a car)? I thought you could get done for this as well.

Unless as I stated you dont have the keys on you ?

10

For what it’s worth, someone once told me it was 30’.

(The person that told me also said you could be put in the glasshouse for being drunk within 30’ of the boathouse)*

*I made that bit up.

11

I would imagine that it would depend entirely on the police officer. For example, with some officers merely being drunk as you walked past a car park would do if you happened to be in possession of dark skin and curly hair!

12

discoman:

limeyphil:
How close to a vehicle would you have to be for a police officer to arrest you for being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle?

As it happens i know the answer. :wink:

prob gone done for drink driving with another of your amazing stories, doubt you even drive a truck shouldnt you be in the scrubs or ville for all your dodgey jobs you do

You are probably right on one count, I should have been locked up a long time ago. I havn’t ruled it out yet. :laughing:

As it happens, I went on a speed awareness course and drink/drug driving came into it. It was a fantastic course, Mainly due to the fact that there was an incredibly fit bird with huge jugs at the end table, We had lunch together and i later found out she was two years younger than my daughter :blush: :laughing: .

Anyway, Getting back on track. It was this thread: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=102789 that reminded me of what was said.

Being arrested for drunk in charge has many varients, There is no definitive distance whatsoever from a vehicle that defines when you are considered to be in charge. It’s all down to how the arresting officer sees the situation and the magistrates on the day.
This is one of those areas of law that really goes against what justice is all about, It’s up to you to prove your innocence. If you murder someone they have to prove you did it. So it’s prety unbalanced.
A women in Blackpool had been living in her car for several weeks since splitting up with her husband, She had a lot to drink in order to get to sleep on the back seat of her car on a cold night, She was arrested for drunk in charge but found not guilty.
In another case a man was 2.5 miles away from his vehicle and he was found guilty of being drunk in charge.

Almost every case is dealt with using case law.

I told you i knew the answer, There isn’t one.
Then there’s the question, Would it be a good or bad thing if a law was introduced that defined at which point you became in charge?

13

limeyphil:
How close to a vehicle would you have to be for a police officer to arrest you for being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle?

As it happens i know the answer. :wink:

Probably the same as all the other “facts” you spout in so much that its a load of bollox.

14

If it was enough to just have the keys or be in the truck the police could have a field day if they started checking drivers overnighting in one of the many truckstops that have bars! I have seen drivers staggering back to the truck after an evening upstairs at Junction 29 truckstop, and I am sure that many others are the same…

15

So I got it right then, do I win a prize?
The law is vague on many counts, how many times does the word "reasonable " appear. If the police can prove that you were drunk and you fully intended to drive and the magistrate agreed then they could successfully prosecute you.
If you were fast asleep in your bunk, police woke you up half way through the night and breathalysed you, a decent solicitor could argue that you had no intention of driving. All this talk about being 6 feet from the steering wheel and giving your keys to your mate is just RDC bull. With out the leys you’re still in charge of the vehicle aren’t you? So you’ve no keys and you’re parked on a slope, in your drunken state you inadvertentley knock the handbrake off, what then?
“I wasn’t driving occifer as I don’t have any keys” That isn’t going to work.

16

mick.mh2racing:
So I got it right then, do I win a prize?
The law is vague on many counts, how many times does the word "reasonable " appear. If the police can prove that you were drunk and you fully intended to drive and the magistrate agreed then they could successfully prosecute you.
If you were fast asleep in your bunk, police woke you up half way through the night and breathalysed you, a decent solicitor could argue that you had no intention of driving. All this talk about being 6 feet from the steering wheel and giving your keys to your mate is just RDC bull. With out the leys you’re still in charge of the vehicle aren’t you? So you’ve no keys and you’re parked on a slope, in your drunken state you inadvertentley knock the handbrake off, what then?
“I wasn’t driving occifer as I don’t have any keys” That isn’t going to work.

That prety much sums it up.

17

limeyphil:

mick.mh2racing:
So I got it right then, do I win a prize?
The law is vague on many counts, how many times does the word "reasonable " appear. If the police can prove that you were drunk and you fully intended to drive and the magistrate agreed then they could successfully prosecute you.
If you were fast asleep in your bunk, police woke you up half way through the night and breathalysed you, a decent solicitor could argue that you had no intention of driving. All this talk about being 6 feet from the steering wheel and giving your keys to your mate is just RDC bull. With out the leys you’re still in charge of the vehicle aren’t you? So you’ve no keys and you’re parked on a slope, in your drunken state you inadvertentley knock the handbrake off, what then?
“I wasn’t driving occifer as I don’t have any keys” That isn’t going to work.

That prety much sums it up.

HANG ON HANG ON wait a minute… tell me more about the fit bird with the extremely large jugs

18

Easy answer ,don’t drink.

Or… If your going to drink and drive , make sure youve got a car /truck. :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

19

Yeah, who was this fit bird with the big jugs, i`ve got no scruples, so the age problem doesnt matter. :laughing: :laughing:

20

wildfire:
don’t think there is a distance, just having the keys on you means your in charge, now they would have prove that you were going to drive and that the difficult bit :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

But what about the thousands of people every Friday and Saturday night who drive to the pub and then walk home with the intention of picking the car up in the morning ? they must stagger out of the pub with their keys in their pocket surely ?