Quick Question

sticksman

Hi all,

I just want to make a query about the random breath testing by Gardai. If a person is arrested for failing the breathalyser test, is it mandatory to give a blood or urine sample at the station? A friend of mine failed the breathalyser and was breath tested at the station but didn't give blood or urine so just wondering what the situation is. Cheers.

Officer Giggles

Its not mandatory to give blood/urine after being brought back to the station although if the garda choose to he/she could go down that route, doing the breath test in the station allows for instant results and no doctors fees

jakdelad

Officer Giggles wrote: »

Its not mandatory to give blood/urine after being brought back to the station although if the garda choose to he/she could go down that route, doing the breath test in the station allows for instant results and no doctors fees

can one opt not to give a breath sample in the station
and offer to provide blood or urine instead?

Officer Giggles

No its up to the garda, if they go down the breath test route they make a lawful demand for you to provide two samples of your breath and if you fail or refuse to comply its a serious offence

jakdelad

Officer Giggles wrote: »

No its up to the garda, if they go down the breath test route they make a lawful demand for you to provide two samples of your breath and if you fail or refuse to comply its a serious offence

yes but if you were suffering from a chest infection,asthma
and did not have the strength to blow into the machine
surly the you can say i will provide blood or urine
i thought you had a choice

Officer Giggles

You Would need to be able to prove there and then that you are medically unable to comply with the breath test, asthma is not a valid ground for refusing, there was a test carried out on an oap with asthma and one lung and he was able to perform the test

Should you be able to prove you genuinely couldn't perform the test then the blood/urine test can be used

jakdelad

Officer Giggles wrote: »

You Would need to be able to prove there and then that you are medically unable to comply with the breath test, asthma is not a valid ground for refusing, there was a test carried out on an oap with asthma and one lung and he was able to perform the test

Should you be able to prove you genuinely couldn't perform the test then the blood/urine test can be used

in order to prepare your defence
can you ask a calibration cert for the intoxilser machine?
also could you not argue your were perfectly prepared to offer a urine and blood sample
what your saying is you do not have a choice..
or is there a better prosecution rate with the intoxiliser

Officer Giggles

i think you can but i would put my house on the machine being calibrated, the road safety people check them regularly, you have a better chance of "getting away" with it if you opt for the breath test, you provide two breaths and then the lower reading is taken, then 17.5% is deducted from the lower reading and if your result is above 35 then you are deemed to be above the legal limit for being capable of driving, with blood/urine the result is the result, the breath test gives you a great chance of passing whereas you would have failed had you been processed for blood/alcohol

it doesnt matter whether you are prepared to provide blood/urine once the garda makes the lawful demand for you to provide the 2 samples of your breath you have to provide them or risk an automatic 2 year ban and/or €5000 fine

jakdelad

Officer Giggles wrote: »

i think you can but i would put my house on the machine being calibrated, the road safety people check them regularly, you have a better chance of "getting away" with it if you opt for the breath test, you provide two breaths and then the lower reading is taken, then 17.5% is deducted from the lower reading and if your result is above 35 then you are deemed to be above the legal limit for being capable of driving, with blood/urine the result is the result, the breath test gives you a great chance of passing whereas you would have failed had you been processed for blood/alcohol

it doesnt matter whether you are prepared to provide blood/urine once the garda makes the lawful demand for you to provide the 2 samples of your breath you have to provide them or risk an automatic 2 year ban and/or €5000 fine

i hear what your saying
however with blood and urine there are more options and more chances of a slip up either by doctor or garda
let it be not offering you a choice of samples etc etc
theres a better chance your legal team can get you off on a techno
than the breath test.
also you say the road safety people check the machines
another arm of the state
there should be an independant company testing them in the interest of impartiality and fairness
while im against drinking and driving i am a great beliver in fairness

Officer Giggles

the road safety people are independant and their involvement part of the legislation, dont start any jim corr nonsense please about the "arms of the state" you cannot possibly say you are against drinking and driving and then look for any possible route out of what in all likelihood is a faultless prosecution, the fairness in being breath tested is that 17.5% is taken off your LOWEST breath score, that means you could blow 40 and still get off as when you take away your 17.5% you end up with 33

Milk & Honey

Officer Giggles wrote: »

it doesnt matter whether you are prepared to provide blood/urine once the garda makes the lawful demand for you to provide the 2 samples of your breath you have to provide them or risk an automatic 2 year ban and/or €5000 fine

It is 4 years for a refusal.

Officer Giggles

my bad

MagicSean

jakdelad wrote: »

i hear what your saying
however with blood and urine there are more options and more chances of a slip up either by doctor or garda
let it be not offering you a choice of samples etc etc
theres a better chance your legal team can get you off on a techno
than the breath test.
also you say the road safety people check the machines
another arm of the state
there should be an independant company testing them in the interest of impartiality and fairness
while im against drinking and driving i am a great beliver in fairness

I disagree. It is easier to get off on a breath test in my opinion. The reason being that you are generally reliant on another Garda to do things right and be your main witness. Whereas with blood/urine once you have the procedure done properly all you need is the doctors signature and cert of analysis. The prosecutin Garda has much more control over his own case with blood and urine. Also if you have taken any kind of drug, illegal or legal, it can also be found in your system. In addition, as another poster stated, you get a much better chance as the reading is automatically reduced by the 17.5%.

As to the RSA, unless you can find some flaw with their calibration techniques I don't see why they can be released. They have no connection with the Gardaí.

jakdelad

Officer Giggles wrote: »

the road safety people are independant and their involvement part of the legislation, dont start any jim corr nonsense please about the "arms of the state" you cannot possibly say you are against drinking and driving and then look for any possible route out of what in all likelihood is a faultless prosecution, the fairness in being breath tested is that 17.5% is taken off your LOWEST breath score, that means you could blow 40 and still get off as when you take away your 17.5% you end up with 33

whoa officer giggles pull back there ,
let me enlighten you about your faultless prosecutions
this is why we have a legal system,
all prosecutions are not faultless by a long shot as many of the wigged boys here will tell you
if its so flawless why do we need solicitors and barristers?? to look good in court? i think you have lost yourself a little bit
and as regards your fool proof breath test, have a read of this
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1172108/
i generally accept what the british medical journal publish
as i stated i do not approve of drink driving but mistakes are and often made, theres nothing flawless in law
and as regards a state agency testing blood breath urine
i stand by my statement
it should be tendered out to the private sector
in the interest of fairness
when you have the same crowd to put it bluntly
arresting you, chargeing you, testing your sample, and convicting you,and maybe jailing you, getting very chinesey and
looks a little one sided wouldent you agree
we come here to express a view or an opinion
whilst you have your opinion and i respect it but i have mine
do not accuse me any nonsense , no one likes a bully
and whos jim corr????

Tutores haec non semper est recta

Officer Giggles

jakdelad wrote: »

whoa officer giggles pull back there ,
let me enlighten you about your faultless prosecutions
this is why we have a legal system,
all prosecutions are not faultless by a long shot as many of the wigged boys here will tell you
if its so flawless why do we need solicitors and barristers?? to look good in court? i think you have lost yourself a little bit
and as regards your fool proof breath test, have a read of this
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1172108/
i generally accept what the british medical journal publish
as i stated i do not approve of drink driving but mistakes are and often made, theres nothing flawless in law
and as regards a state agency testing blood breath urine
i stand by my statement
it should be tendered out to the private sector
in the interest of fairness
when you have the same crowd to put it bluntly
arresting you, chargeing you, testing your sample, and convicting you,and maybe jailing you, getting very chinesey and
looks a little one sided wouldent you agree
we come here to express a view or an opinion
whilst you have your opinion and i respect it but i have mine
do not accuse me any nonsense , no one likes a bully
and whos jim corr????

Tutores haec non semper est recta

Im afraid your own article answers your question, after ten minutes there was no difference caused by the inhaler, this is one of the reasons there is a twenty minute period of observation following arrest to ensure the prisoner is nil by mouth and nothing they have consumed interferes with the reading,

You should Google Jim corr for, in my view, some entertainment

THe gardai, the medical road safety and the judiciary are all distinctly different and not part of a greater group of evil doing looking to lock up everyone

You want a good barrister or solicitor.......what do you think a judge did to get appointed

jakdelad

[
You want a good barrister or solicitor.......what do you think a judge did to get appointed[/QUOTE]

now thats a real mystery
like black holes in space,, the virgin birth
where does all .aa money go


no one knows

MagicSean

jakdelad wrote: »

whoa officer giggles pull back there ,
let me enlighten you about your faultless prosecutions
this is why we have a legal system,
all prosecutions are not faultless by a long shot as many of the wigged boys here will tell you
if its so flawless why do we need solicitors and barristers?? to look good in court? i think you have lost yourself a little bit
and as regards your fool proof breath test, have a read of this
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1172108/
i generally accept what the british medical journal publish
as i stated i do not approve of drink driving but mistakes are and often made, theres nothing flawless in law
and as regards a state agency testing blood breath urine
i stand by my statement
it should be tendered out to the private sector
in the interest of fairness
when you have the same crowd to put it bluntly
arresting you, chargeing you, testing your sample, and convicting you,and maybe jailing you, getting very chinesey and
looks a little one sided wouldent you agree
we come here to express a view or an opinion
whilst you have your opinion and i respect it but i have mine
do not accuse me any nonsense , no one likes a bully
and whos jim corr????

Tutores haec non semper est recta

Gardaí dont convict or jail you. That is for the courts and prison service.

jakdelad

k_mac wrote: »

Gardaí dont convict or jail you. That is for the courts and prison service.

i hear you
but its a symbiotic relationship
the judge , the solicitor, the garda the prision service
and the last of all the person everyone needs the defendant