The Meaning of a Drink-Drive Conviction
| Date | 01 September 1990 |
| Published date | 01 September 1990 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059003700304 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
119
The
Meaning
of
a
Drink-Drive
Conviction
To
what
extent
can
drink-related
problems
beyond
loss
of
licence
be
inferred
from
excess
alcohol
convictions?
Martin
Roscoe,
Senior
Probation
Officer
with
Hampshire
Probation
Service,
challenges
conventional
assumptions
and
argues
that
the
blood
alcohol
concentration
level
of
drink-drive offenders, if
interpreted
accurately,
reveals
a
pattern
of
drinking
well
above
social
limits,
likely
to
indicate
a
very
problematic
pattern
of
consumption.
y
contention
is
two-fold.
Firstly,
there
is
a
tendency
to
minimise
the
amount
of
alcohol
consumed
by
the
ex-
cess
alcohol
offender
(a
tendency
which
comes
both
from
the
offender
and
from
the
person
who
attributes
meaning
to
the
offence).
Secondly,
the
likely
meaning
of
an
excess
alcohol
offence
is
further
diminished
by
a
tendency
to
see
the
cir-
cumstances
of
the
offence
as
exceptional
or
atypical
(a
view
which
again
is
both
pro-
moted
by
the
offender
and
too
easily
accepted
by
others).
Alcohol
consumption
and
,
breath/blood
r=- Ll
This
is
a
notoriously
variable
relationship
which
depends-
on
a
great
many
factors
such
as
the
weight
and
general
build
of
the
drinker,
the
speed
of
drinking,
the
type
q,~
.
~~..
of
beverage
consumed,
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