According to
Home Office Statistics, between 2005 and 2015, 72,127
people were convicted of the offence of
driving or attempting to drive whilst having alcohol above the prescribed limit
in their system contrary to section 5 (1)(a), Road Traffic Act 1988. In that
same time period, 12,413 people were convicted of all other offences related to
drink and drug driving. This means that 82.8% of all convictions for drink and
drug driving convictions were for an offence under section 5(1)(a) Road Traffic
Act 1988. This guide will therefore concentrate mainly on this offence.
It is also
helpful to know that the conviction rate for this offence is 97%[1][2], but that only 3% of those
convicted received a custodial sentence. Therefore, although you are very
likely to be convicted if charged, there is very little prospect of being sent
to prison for this offence.
[2] The figure of 97%
for convictions for driving with excess alcohol does not indicate the
percentage of acquittals after a contested hearing. Therefore, it is reasonable
to infer that the acquittal rate must
be higher than 3%.
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