ALCOHOL, DRUGS AND DRIVING

Prescribed concentration of alcohol
Challenging breath test results
Drug driving testing
Driving under the influence
Refusing a breath test
Compulsory blood tests
Consuming alcohol after driving
Alcohol and drug penalties
Immediate loss of licence
Keeping a licence
Other effects of alcohol or drug driving
Drug and alcohol assessment

Alcohol and/or drugs can have a significant effect on a person's ability to drive. It is estimated that about two schooners of full strength beer or three schooners of low alcohol beer drunk in an hour will raise an average person's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 per 100 mls of blood.

Effects of alcohol

However, the effect of alcohol varies greatly from person to person. It is affected by a variety of factors, such as:

the length of time since the person has eaten
how much they weigh
gender
level of fitness
the health of their liver
whether they regularly drink
mood
the type of drink consumed
the person's efficiency in eliminating alcohol from the body (which may vary from time to time as well as from person to person).

Drink driving offences

All references in this part are to the Road Traffic Act 1961 unless otherwise stated. The Act creates three major offences:

PCA (driving with a prescribed concentration of alcohol)
DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs)
Refusing to blow (refusing to comply with directions in relation to a breath test).

The elements of each of these offences is discussed in the following articles.