Drink driving ban and insurance

aloneinthecrowd

Hello,

Recently I was breathalyzed at a checkpoint and to my utter astonishment failed the test. I was arrested and was taken to the station, and given the intoxilysir test which I failed.

The legal limit is 35mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath sample, mine came in at 36mg. So I was charged and went to court. I pleaded guilty, as I did break the law, and received a fine and a mandatory 1 year ban.

I work nights and had a bunch of beers with some workmates after our shift had finished. I went to bed and woke up about 9-10 hours later at around midnight.

I decided to drive into the city to get some food from an late night place. Had my food and set off home again. Approached a garda checkpoint with no fear at all as I honestly believed I was OK to drive. I would have never got in the car if I had known that there still was booze in me in the first place.

I know I made a terrible mistake and am glad that no one else was hurt due to my error of judgment. I am not looking for any sympathy as I don't deserve it, I broke the law and deserved to get punished. I was shocked at the time as it came out of the blue, I really had no inkling at all. I will be buying a self tester kit when I get my license back and inform as many people as I can about the dangers of the next day after drinking.

I have some questions regarding insurance, when I do get my license back will my insurance policy forever be loaded because of the ban I received?

Am I required to tell the insurance company about the endorsement or can they check?

What kind of loading will I likely to receive? I have a UK license and have been driving for 10 years, 3 years ago I passed the Advance Driving test in the UK. No penalty points.

Thank you in advance for any help.

EPM

Do a quick search as there was o post similar to yours only last week.

And yes, you are supposed to tell your insurance company and yes the loading will be huge. Best stay with a 1 litre for the next couple of years:o

Realistically, your best bet is to contact a solicitor and find out exactly. IIRC a guy I know had both a UK and Irish licence and got done. He gave the Irish license and just went back hoe to the UK when he got banned. This way out I *think* has changed though

Pedro K

Wouldn't be loaded forever though. Just for 5 years aint it?

Notch000

i have no help to offer you, but out of interest could you specify how much booze you had the night before ?? might help others avoid similar sitauation in the future

NiSmO

This post has been deleted.

Anan1

Pedro K wrote: »

Wouldn't be loaded forever though. Just for 5 years aint it?

I think so. If the OP has a full NCB this won't be affected either. It's all relative, a 100% loading on my policy would represent an extra €500 - hardly enough to prompt me to change cars. If the OP is a young male paying €2500 on a Golf 1.4, though...

Pedro K

Anan1 wrote: »

I think so. If the OP has a full NCB this won't be affected either. It's all relative, a 100% loading on my policy would represent an extra €500 - hardly enough to prompt me to change cars. If the OP is a young male paying €2500 on a Golf 1.4, though...

Ye, very good point!
Although he mentions he's been driving for 10 years and has an advanced license.

So maybe he'd be in the same sitaution as yourself with regards to an increase in premium.

Anan1

Pedro K wrote: »

Ye, very good point!
Although he mentions he's been driving for 10 years and has an advanced license.

So maybe he'd be in the same sitaution as yourself with regards to an increase in premium.

Possibly so. I wonder what the situation is with the UK license?

Jack Bauer999

aloneinthecrowd wrote: »

Hello,

Recently I was breathalyzed at a checkpoint and to my utter astonishment failed the test. I was arrested and was taken to the station, and given the intoxilysir test which I failed.

The legal limit is 35mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath sample, mine came in at 36mg. So I was charged and went to court. I pleaded guilty, as I did break the law, and received a fine and a mandatory 1 year ban.

I work nights and had a bunch of beers with some workmates after our shift had finished. I went to bed and woke up about 9-10 hours later at around midnight.

I decided to drive into the city to get some food from an late night place. Had my food and set off home again. Approached a garda checkpoint with no fear at all as I honestly believed I was OK to drive. I would have never got in the car if I had known that there still was booze in me in the first place.

I know I made a terrible mistake and am glad that no one else was hurt due to my error of judgment. I am not looking for any sympathy as I don't deserve it, I broke the law and deserved to get punished. I was shocked at the time as it came out of the blue, I really had no inkling at all. I will be buying a self tester kit when I get my license back and inform as many people as I can about the dangers of the next day after drinking.

I have some questions regarding insurance, when I do get my license back will my insurance policy forever be loaded because of the ban I received?

Am I required to tell the insurance company about the endorsement or can they check?

What kind of loading will I likely to receive? I have a UK license and have been driving for 10 years, 3 years ago I passed the Advance Driving test in the UK. No penalty points.

Thank you in advance for any help.

as a matter of interest, when they took you to the station did they give you the option of a blood or urine test? see below from another website from the uk. im just wondering beacuse you were over the limit by such a little amount
coud it have saved you if you took a blood or urine test



"At the police station, you will be required to provide two breath samples for the Intoximeter equipment, which is accurately calibrated and is used to provide the evidence of your BAC that is presented in court. The reading that will be used is the lower of the two samples. At this stage, a refusal to provide a specimen is an offence that is treated in law as the equivalent of being convicted with a BAC above the legal limit.

If your breath-alcohol level is between 40 and 49 µg, you will be offered the opportunity to take a blood or urine test as an alternative. This option should always be taken, as you have nothing to lose, and there is a chance it may result in a more favourable figure, particularly if you consider your alcohol level is falling. If the police fail to offer this alternative they have not applied the procedure correctly and this can be used as a defence in court. You also have the right to be given a sample of blood or urine for independent analysis, but experience suggests that the alcohol level is unlikely to vary significantly from the official test."

bryanmurr

Jack Bauer999 wrote: »

as a matter of interest, when they took you to the station did they give you the option of a blood or urine test? see below from another website from the uk. im just wondering beacuse you were over the limit by such a little amount
coud it have saved you if you took a blood or urine test



"At the police station, you will be required to provide two breath samples for the Intoximeter equipment, which is accurately calibrated and is used to provide the evidence of your BAC that is presented in court. The reading that will be used is the lower of the two samples. At this stage, a refusal to provide a specimen is an offence that is treated in law as the equivalent of being convicted with a BAC above the legal limit.

If your breath-alcohol level is between 40 and 49 µg, you will be offered the opportunity to take a blood or urine test as an alternative. This option should always be taken, as you have nothing to lose, and there is a chance it may result in a more favourable figure, particularly if you consider your alcohol level is falling. If the police fail to offer this alternative they have not applied the procedure correctly and this can be used as a defence in court. You also have the right to be given a sample of blood or urine for independent analysis, but experience suggests that the alcohol level is unlikely to vary significantly from the official test."

this doesnt apply here, anyway the level of alcohol in blood or urine will be higher because the intoxilyser used in ireland takes 17.5 % from the lowest of your 2 readings and thats your total then. which means the op (correct me if im wrong op) possibly blew around the 43mg mark.

which means the level in blood or urine would be around the equvilent of 43mg eg still over the limit.

aloneinthecrowd

bryanmurr wrote: »

this doesnt apply here, anyway the level of alcohol in blood or urine will be higher because the intoxilyser used in ireland takes 17.5 % from the lowest of your 2 readings and thats your total then. which means the op (correct me if im wrong op) possibly blew around the 43mg mark.

which means the level in blood or urine would be around the equvilent of 43mg eg still over the limit.

Yes that is correct. So I was over the limit. The officer who arrested me was sympathetic to my story but said he had no choice. Even the judge said that she had to impose the minimum mandatory sentence and said that "unfortunately" for me that I would have to get 12 months ban instead of 3 month ban they had as minimum mandatory sentence up until last year I think, for such a low reading.

For the person who mentioned how many beers I had, I'm not quite certain but I would say about six cans and a couple of bottles of larger. So I was fairly well on it.

The whole thing has left me reeling. I recently found out that I will have an endorsement on my license for 11 years in the UK.

I have a few more days before I have to surrender my license and to be honest have been avoiding driving as much as possible. Even looking at my car puts a lump in my throat.

PirateShampoo

I did have sympathy for you being that little over the limite and being done,

But 6 cans and a few bottles and you admite your self you where well on, you deserved to be caught has theres no excuse for drinking that much and driving.

CharlieCroker

get off your high horse pirate!!!
I'm the last person to condone drink driving since i'm one of those who's job it is to catch them!!
BUT
The OP did everything he thought was right (and what the majority of people would do).
-Got a Cab/lift home
-Got a fair bit of sleep
-waited til that night to drive.

Yes he was wrong but also was unlucky. He's admitted his guilt, doesnt want sympathy and is sorry for what he has done. He just wants advice.

Unfortunately for the OP, there has to be a limit somewhere.

Anan1

PirateShampoo wrote: »

I did have sympathy for you being that little over the limite and being done,

But 6 cans and a few bottles and you admite your self you where well on, you deserved to be caught has theres no excuse for drinking that much and driving.

Funny how people can find the time to post on a thread but not to read it. The OP slept for 9-10 hours between drinking and driving.

PirateShampoo

Fair enough i missed the whole slept for 10 hours bit.

But he took the risk of driving around late at night after having a skin full during the day. Its a way bigger risk to take than say driving to work the morning after a night out.

Anan1

PirateShampoo wrote: »

Fair enough i missed the whole slept for 10 hours bit.

But he took the risk of driving around late at night after having a skin full during the day. Its a way bigger risk to take than say driving to work the morning after a night out.

You took the risk of laying into the OP without even bothering to read his post - sh1t happens.

PirateShampoo

Its just the way i read things, i miss whole sentances. Not gonna lose sleep over it.

bwardrop

OP - I have no advice re: your insurance, but relative to your story I thought I would chip this in...

A good friend of mine (sales rep) has recently invested in one of those self-breathalyser things to avoid the exact situations you encountered. It is a pretty decent one - about €150.

He was on a work night out - massive session - and went to drive home the next day at about lunchtime. One of his colleagues had one of these self testers and insisted he use it before he left... needless to say he was waaaaaaaaaaaay over the limit still, even though he had slept, ate etc.

I know the ones you can buy are fallible, but he uses it as a good indicator of when he is good to drive and when he is not... reckons it has saved him his licence, job and potentially killing someone

L-M

It's actually frightening to think about it.

I'm going out tonight, probably have 5 pints, home by half twelve or one. Up at half seven to ready for work, leave around 10 to 9 ish. I'm assuming I'll be over the limit still? For such a simple drive, and what I would consider not a massive amount of drink, I'm really putting alot on the plate by driving.

Frightening tbh, but I know in my heart it won't stop me. It's like staring into the face of some one who has cancer, and still, you'll continue to smoke.

Anan1

Limerick man wrote: »

I'm going out tonight, probably have 5 pints, home by half twelve or one. Up at half seven to ready for work, leave around 10 to 9 ish.

That's why I got out of car sales, the Saturdays were killing me.;)

L-M

Anan1 wrote: »

That's why I got out of car sales, the Saturdays were killing me.;)

The only reason I'm in car sales :P

Limerick man

Limerick man wrote: »

It's actually frightening to think about it.

I'm going out tonight, probably have 5 pints, home by half twelve or one. Up at half seven to ready for work, leave around 10 to 9 ish. I'm assuming I'll be over the limit still? For such a simple drive, and what I would consider not a massive amount of drink, I'm really putting alot on the plate by driving.

Frightening tbh, but I know in my heart it won't stop me. It's like staring into the face of some one who has cancer, and still, you'll continue to smoke.

I know what its like. Especially when you live in the middle of nowhere like I do. Busses and taxis are just not an option. When the morning comes you just drive, You know only for it has been brought up so much nowadays being over the limit the next day would never even have entered my head. Even back when I was in first year in college about 5 years ago, I used to play a lot of golf on sunday mornings. Even then there was no talk of driving the next day and I must have been well over the limit every sunday morning heading to the course.

Random

PirateShampoo wrote: »

Fair enough i missed the whole slept for 10 hours bit.

But he took the risk of driving around late at night after having a skin full during the day. Its a way bigger risk to take than say driving to work the morning after a night out.

10 hours is more sleep than you would get if you went down the pub and got up the next morning for work at 7 or 8.

PirateShampoo

Thats not the point i was getting at, the guy had a skin full of drink during the day then went to bed for a few hours, then got up and drove into town in the middle of the night looking for a kebab.

What was he exepecting to happen ?

bladebrew

i think the op was very unlucky here,but as someone already said there has to be a limit somewhere,there cant be a grey area in the middle,
i know a guy who got an insurance quote of €13,000 a few years back for insurance on a fiesta:eek: he was just after a two year ban for drink driving,that freaked me out enough,

and court is scary,the judge was just sayin "two year ban" for everyone caught drink driving,although 90% of these were from a certain country...