Arrested for sitting in car drunk

ziggyboy4435

Can anyone give me some advice please for my brother ,

He was out at a beach on Saturday meeting with a friend , They had a coffee and he then went to leave in the car , The car battery had gone flat and would not start the car , He tried to get someone to get a battery but shops like Halfords had closed so he decided to have a drink and sleep in the car until the morning and then get a battery , The police tapped his window at about midnight and arrested him for being in control of a car whilst over the drink limit , They done the alcohol test on the spot but did not do another one at the station , He explained the story to the police but they ignored it and locked him up for the night and released in the morning , Does he have a leg to stand on ?

Thanks

Tigsteroonie

I have heard of others being arrested and charged for similarly sleeping in the car after a bevvy - the Police seem think you are still "in control of a car" even though it's parked up, engine off.

MsPisces

You can be charged and convicted for being drunk and in charge of a vehicle if you are pushing it, asleep in the back or walking towards it with keys in your hand.

There are plenty of stated cases related to it.

That being said there are plenty of road traffic lawyers out there who specialise in this, even ones who advertise specifically to people who are guilty of the offense

ziggyboy4435

The battery was completely flat and he told them this at the scene , they didn't check and he was only given the road breath test and not one at the station

wgl2014

Asking for advice based on third hand info is not ideal. I would suggest that your brother posts here themselves if they want advice (or for 'better' advice on the pepipoo forum).

Has he been charged? If so what with?

ziggyboy4435

wgl2014 wrote: »

Asking for advice based on third hand info is not ideal. I would suggest that your brother posts here themselves if they want advice (or for 'better' advice on the pepipoo forum).

Has he been charged? If so what with?

yes he has been charged with being in control of a vehicle whilst over the legal drink drive limit

Scrapit

Drunk in charge. Basically it's illegal to be drunk in charge of a vehicle. Clues in the title. So what is your brothers defence? Was he not drunk? Or was he not in charge? We have confirmed there was a vehicle so rules that one out.

wgl2014

However there is a statutory defence so the OP's brother may want to get some proper legal advice.

It would also (on face value) seem there has been a procedural issue if an evidential sample wasn't taken at the Police Station.

neilmcl

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

I have heard of others being arrested and charged for similarly sleeping in the car after a bevvy - the Police seem think you are still "in control of a car" even though it's parked up, engine off.

The offence is not about being in control of the vehicle but being in charge of it.

The OP's brother's defence, should he take it to court, would be that he couldn't be in charge of the vehicle because there was no intention to drive said vehicle, in fact it was an impossibility as the battery was flat. My question to the OP is can he prove this?

Also there is a question as to whether the police followed the correct procedure after making the arrest. Why was a second breath test at the station not taken, for example.

ziggyboy4435

surely they should of confirmed if the car was drivable and if they had checked they would of realised said story was correct

neilmcl

ziggyboy4435 wrote: »

surely they should of confirmed if the car was drivable and if they had checked they would of realised said story was correct

That's down to your brother to prove, not the police.