Recent figures released by the Government reveal that there was a 17% increase in the number of people killed in drink driving crashes last year. At the same time the BBC reports that many of those caught drink driving have been convicted of the offence before.
The BBC submitted a Freedom of Information request to the DVLA, and discovered that around 20% of those currently classified by the agency as being high risk offenders had been 'registered' as high risk before.
The DVLA regards high risk offenders as drivers who are:
- convicted of two drink driving offences within ten years;
- convicted of driving when they were at 2.5 times or more above the legal alcohol limit; or
- convicted for refusing to give the police a sample of breath, blood or urine to test for alcohol.
Until recently, high risk offenders could start driving again as soon as their ban had expired and they had applied for a driving licence. This was only issued if they then passed a medical examination.
In terms of new rules introduced in June, new offenders cannot start driving again until they have received their driving licence, and they will only be able to recover this if they pass a medical test designed to prove that they are no longer dependent on alcohol.
The new rules only apply to those convicted of drink driving offences since the rules came into force.
Contact Lewis Nedas’ Criminal Lawyers in London
If you have been charged with drink driving and require specialist legal advice please contact our solicitors Jeffrey Lewis or Siobhain Egan on 020 7387 2032 or complete our online enquiry form here.
This blog post is intended as a news item only- no connection between Lewis Nedas and the parties concerned is intended or implied.
