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Preface

Document Cited authorities 1 Cited in Related
Vincent
AuthorPauline M Callow
Pages5-6

Contents

Preface

Drink and Drug Drive Case Notes comprises summaries of the many cases on drink driving, and the fewer cases on drug driving, which have come before the High Court, the Court of Appeal, the House of Lords and, in one instance, the Supreme Court. The cases go back, broadly, to 1984, although some earlier, leading, decisions are also included. Decisions available up to the end of April 2015 are covered. Over six hundred judgments are summarised. Each note is presented as a short statement of the facts of the case, the question(s) put to the appeal court and an extract from the judgment. The notes are intended to provide a broad outline of the trends in the case law and as starting points for readers seeking guidance on particular points.

As far as possible, the material is arranged according to the subject matter of the cases, but overlaps are inevitable. Each case note has a headnote, giving an attempt at a single-sentence (sometimes longer) summary of the ratio of the case. In this edition, headnotes to the various sections include cross-references to other cases touching on like subjects, in an attempt further to improve the accessibility of material.

This third edition includes notes of some seventy-five cases decided since the second edition was published in 2007. While the number of appeals has slowed considerably in the past two or three years, there has nevertheless been a substantial addition to the jurisprudence. Themes running through the new cases include the interpretation of the provisions (in section 7(3)(bb) of the Road Traffic Act 1988) on reasonable cause to believe that the breath analysis device has not produced a reliable indication of the subject’s breath alcohol level, and on the application of the Criminal Procedure Rules to proceedings for drink and drug driving.

The wealth of case law reflects the reluctance of motorists to forfeit their licences, and the ingenuity of the arguments that have been devised with that in mind. The media have taken some delight in presenting certain acquittals as the unmeritorious exploitation of loopholes. This is not wholly fair, the cases continuing to demonstrate that a balance is to be maintained between the protection of the individual and the interests of the community in keeping unfit drivers off the roads – proportionality between the right of the police to require a suspect to provide evidence against himself, under threat of prosecution for failing to provide, and the protection of...

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