The following article explains more about what the police are encouraging during their summer drink drive clampdown.

It demonstrates you can be caught by somebody reporting you… and not just the usual way of being pulled over by the police… and that they could follow up with a warning even though you have not been apprehended at the time.

Below is the article… but if you need help you can ask a question in confidence of specialist road traffic lawyer on drink driving in Scotland or any aspect of road traffic law in Scotland.

The move is part of the annual drink-driving campaign and comes after it emerged a mother was charged with being twice over the limit in Edinburgh after being caught behind the wheel of her car with her three-month-old daughter in the back seat.The 26-year-old woman was stopped by police after being spotted driving erratically in Baileyfield Road, Portobello in the early hours of the morning. Officers found the baby asleep in the rear of the vehicle after it was pulled over last Thursday before breathalysing the woman.

The woman is expected to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court at the end of the month.

That arrest was one of 14 made by Lothian and Borders Police during the first week of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland’s (Acpos) summer drink-drugs driving campaign, which began last Monday.

Officers said they would continue their efforts to detect offenders over the second week, with marked and unmarked patrols taking place across the area.

As well as enforcement action, the force is using a Bluetooth transmission device to send a short message to mobile phones with an anti drink/drug-drive message at locations including shopping centres and at public events.

Also, letters will be sent to the owners of vehicles seen and suspected of drink-driving by members of the public.

A police spokesman said: “We are determined to drive the message home that drink-driving will not be tolerated, and we have in place a comprehensive enforcement plan.

We would also encourage members of the public to report to us anyone they suspect of driving while under the influence of drink or drugs.”

The Lothian arrests in the last week included a 36-year-old man who was pulled over in Edinburgh last Tuesday after he was spotted driving while holding an “insecure load” on top of his car.

After being breathalysed, he was allegedly found to be twice over the limit.

Another man, aged 44, was allegedly three times over the limit when he was caught speeding on the A1 in East Lothian last Monday.

Across Scotland, the first week of the campaign saw 122 people charged with drink-driving offences – a figure down almost 17 per cent on the previous year’s results.

A total of 22 of those were involved in collisions and a further 100 were stopped for suspected drink-driving. In addition, nine motorists were found to be driving under the influence of drugs.

- Article ends -

If you need help you can ask a question in confidence of specialist road traffic lawyer on drink driving in Scotland or any aspect of road traffic law in Scotland.

A summer road safety initiative targeting those who get behind the wheel while under the influence of drink or drugs has been launched.

The article is from this source:

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/107581-summer-drink-drive-campaign-in-lothians/

Please note the use of ‘unmarked cars’, targetting ‘morning after’ drinkers and the unusual step of writing to people they suspect of drink driving even if they cannot be traced at the time. It even mentions some of the locations they will be targetting including shopping centres and public events.

Starts…

Warning: Summer clampdown on drink driving coordinated by all 8 Scottish Police Forces

The article below was published on: http://scotland.newsfed.net/2009/07/06/summer-clampdown-on-drink-driving/

Whilst at roadtrafficlaw we are specilsist at dealing in the defence of people charged with drink driving in Scotland… we would always encourage people not to drink and drive hence we feel it is important to reiterate this article’s message.

Start:

Summer clampdown on drink driving

Drinking alcohol reduces the reaction times of drivers

Drivers have been warned not to allow the good summer weather to tempt them to drink and drive.All eight Scottish police forces are coming together to reinforce the drink driving message with a two week long summer campaign. The co-ordinated campaign has been organised by Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland. It coincides with the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, The Open at Turnberry and the T in The Park music festival. Chief Superintendent Brian Anderson, from Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, said: “With the summer months now upon us and potentially many more motorists travelling across Scotland to visit the major attractions I would urge drivers to act responsibly.” He said it was not worth the risk of “either killing or seriously injuring themselves or others”. Chief Supt Anderson urged people to be “aware of the consequences of being caught for drink or drug driving”. During a similar two week campaign across Scotland in 2008 officers caught 343 people who were over the limit. He added: “Those drivers will currently be disqualified and may have lost their jobs. In the present climate they may find it increasingly difficult to find work. Officers will again be out in force, as they are each day of the year, to keep our roads as safe as possible.” The campaign will run until 20 July, and the police have urged the public to contact Crimestoppers if they suspect anyone of drink driving.

Ends

The above article was published on: http://scotland.newsfed.net/2009/07/06/summer-clampdown-on-drink-driving/

If you have been charged with drink driving or any other road traffic advice please see our main site here

If you want to ask any queston, free and in confidence to a specialist road traffic lawyer here ]]> http://roadtrafficlaw.com/road-traffic-law-scotland/summer-clampdown-drink-driving-scotland/feed 0 http://roadtrafficlaw.com/road-traffic-law-scotland/drink-driving-loopholes-scotland http://roadtrafficlaw.com/road-traffic-law-scotland/drink-driving-loopholes-scotland#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:05:52 +0000 admin http://roadtrafficlaw.com/road-traffic-law-scotland/?p=127 Drink Driving Loopholes and Defences Scotland. This video looks at what happens in court when you are charged with drink driving.

You can ask a specialist lawyer any question in confidence here: Drink Driving Scotland

Mistake 7: Knowing what is in your best interests

Your lawyer should inform you about the penalties arising from a conviction as against pleading gulity early in the case. (The Du Plooy Case)

Why is this so critical?

If  you have a conviction for drink driving in the past ten years and take the option to go to court with a very high breath test reading and no identifiable defence then you are likely to incur the wrath of the Sheriff. A specialist and experienced solicitor will always know when it would be in your interests to put forward a plea, particularly if you are a near prison case. It usually can be the difference between keeping your liberty and a sentence of several months in jail.

And this mistake is more common than you think. Especially if your lawyer is too busy or a duty solicitor with very little time for each client. We have beemn in the role of Duty solicitor and we know how difficult it is to get through more than  30 to 40 cases in a few hours. Jus recently Duty Solicitors in Glasgow have been managing more than this number can mean that on average each client is likely to have no more than approximately 2-3 minutes with the duty solicitor to prepare a plea in mitigation that could mean prison or freedom.

That’s why we advise getting a specialist road traffic lawyer on board and have him/her explain the best strategy and circumstances for your case.

If you are in this position or any other and require any help in confidence you can ask any question here: drink driving help in Scotland

At the least, the ACPO Rules and the police guidance document should be gone over by you or your lawyer. She or he will then know precisely what questions you should ask the arresting officer to work out if the police totally followed the published recommendations.

We understand that in the restof the UK police officers are supplied with a standard forma document to follow but in Scotland the police rely upon their coaching and ACPO rules where suitable.

You see, if the manual’s directions were not utterly followed, the test’s validity can be attacked. Obviously these manuals only supply a guideline.

They definitely aren’t the law and you can expect any Procurator Fiscal who is worth his salt to indicate that they are at best standardised guidance. A good defence lawyer should be in a position to do a lot with the undeniable fact that this guidance were authored for an excellent reason and that was to provide the best available background for the court. If the Crown now stated that doesn’t make any difference then they’re denigrating the responsibility of the judge or Sheriff .Successfully challenging such procedures often can win your case  without the requirement for you to give proof yourself.

The key to these tests have a tendency to be how objective and trustworthy they are. Remember that in Scotland they are frequently of less significance as the officer can frequently come up with virtually any old excuse to make claims that he or she had a “reasonable excuse” to stop you and demand a breath sample. Currently in Scotland a discussion is going on with reference to the extension of police powers to permit random stop and test procedures.

Candidly , as a seasoned criminal court specialist ( Like the Justice Minister ) I am aware the police can and do stop folk when they like. It is all too simple to deliver an excuse at a later stage.

Why concern yourself with the ACPO manual if these are ONLY guidelines? Easy : if you or your lawyer doesn’t know the APCO manual inside-out then how is he able to cross examine proficiently? How does he stop any possible important prosecution evidence from even being taken into consideration . It is very difficult to then un-ring a bell.

After you have watched the video you can ask a specialist lawyer a question in confidence about a drink driving charge in Scotland