DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING

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Driving or attempting to drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a major cause of road injuries and death.

Apart from the obvious lethal consequences of drink and/or drug driving, you can also lose your licence, be jailed and be fined up to £5,000. This will affect you and others.

It's an offence for any person to drive or attempt to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or other public place, while unfit to drive through drink or drugs.

A Police Officer may arrest any person without warrant if there's reasonable cause to suspect that any person has or has been committing the above offence.

All Scottish Forces have officers trained in Field Impairment Testing for testing drivers at the roadside who are suspected of being under the influence of drugs.

It's also an offence for any person to drive, attempt to drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath, blood or urine exceeds the prescribed limit.

A Police Officer in uniform may require a breath test if he has reasonable cause to suspect:

That a person driving or attempting to drive or in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place has alcohol in his body or has committed a traffic offence whilst the vehicle was in motion.
That a person has been driving or attempting to drive or been in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place with alcohol in his body and that person still has alcohol in his body.
That a person has been driving or attempting to drive or been in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place and has committed a moving traffic offence.

A Police Officer in uniform may also require a breath test from any person who he has reasonable cause to believe was driving, or attempting to drive, or was in charge of a vehicle at the time of a road accident.

It's an offence for a person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to provide a specimen of breath when required to do so.

A Police Officer may arrest a person without warrant if, as a result of a breath test, he has reasonable cause to suspect that the proportion of alcohol in that person's breath or blood exceeds the prescribed limit, or that person has failed to provide a specimen of breath for Police Officer has reasonable cause to suspect that he has alcohol in his body.