Advice from forum Police officers needed.

[Mully]

Morning All,

I'd like to ask the on-site Police Officers a question please.

My idiot Brother-in-Law got pulled over in August for drinking and driving. Blew 553mcg at the station and opted for a blood test. (Apparently cos the cop was surprised he blew that high)

I checked the web and told him that as far as I could see, 3 months disqualification is the minimum (first offence, not even any speeding tickets for years) and researched (on here) the work licence and gave him the info.

Now. I have asked occasionally, and he reckons that he hasn't heard from the courts yet. My thoughts were that maybe there were delays processing the BAC test, but after 3 months, I'm having doubts.

So, what I'd like to know is; does 3 months sound like an excessive time to wait; and if the Blood test came back under 400mcg, wouldn't he have been told?

Please only respond if you are:
a) a lawyer;
b) a Police Officer; or
c) you have had a similar experience

Before anyone (else) starts;
I know he's an idiot.
He knows he's an idiot.
His family knows he's an idiot.

Thanks in advance,
Mully

[scumdog]

3 months disq if the 'idiot' is a kid (under 20) AND blows under 150 or blood less than 30.

6 months disq if said 'idiot' is an adult and blows over 400 or blood is over 80.

Those are the minimum disqualifications for 1st time offenders

If below the limit he SHOULD have been contacted by now, if not, - when he got picked up he should have been given a TON forbidding him to drive for 12 hrs, should have all the details on it for him to back-track where/when the event actually happended and to find out what has happened to the case.

Of course if 'idiot' is like most that leave the station clutching a fistful of paper it will have been lost by the time he got home.

DISCLAIMER: I could be completely and utterly wrong about all the above.

[marty]

yes 3 months is a long time to wait. almost too long.

it would be unusual for a 533 to come back under 80.

he should really have been told either way.

at the very least he should go into the court nearest to where he was picked up, and ask if there are charges laid against him. he will need ID. DO NOT go to the police station for this!

he needs to do that just in case the blood result has come back, the charge has been laid, and the summons has turned into a warrant (ie he's been out and the cop has visited to serve him 2 or 3 times)/.

This could be his luckiest break ever.....

[scumdog]

Oh yeah, forgot to add: about 1 in 900 people get the result they want with a blood test.:doh:

(Lower than the equivalent breath level)

[Sanx]

Meh - he should have used one or more of the time-honoured tricks to avoid blowing high on the breath test:

Sucking on an old coin when you get pulled over
Hyperventilating before blowing into the machine
Eating a block of dark chocolate
... etcAll are guaranteed to work.Provided, that is, that your aim was to get the officer concerned pissing himself laughing.

I have heard that when blowing into the evidential breath test thingy, blowing through a conveniently secreted lump of activated charcoal works well, but it's not something people usually have lying around in the glovebox.

[scumdog]

Meh - he should have used one or more of the time-honoured tricks to avoid blowing high on the breath test:

Sucking on an old coin when you get pulled over
Hyperventilating before blowing into the machine
Eating a block of dark chocolate
... etcAll are guaranteed to work.Provided, that is, that your aim was to get the officer concerned pissing himself laughing.

I have heard that when blowing into the evidential breath test thingy, blowing through a conveniently secreted lump of activated charcoal works well, but it's not something people usually have lying around in the glovebox.

You forgot to add:
Drinking lots of water before the test at the station (waters the alcamahol down doncha know!),
Making yourself vomit,
Eating one those smelly clourful 'things' placed in urinals just before having the test,
Persistantly saying "This is bullshit" throughout the whole procedure - I'm sure the cop will eventually believe you and take you home after cancelling the breath test.

[Krusti]

Know of a guy who thought he could beat the system by drinking that blue shit from a porta loo.... Good blow and very sick puppy, pissed myself laughing.

[Sanx]

You forgot to add:
Drinking lots of water before the test at the station (waters the alcamahol down doncha know!),
Making yourself vomit,
Eating one those smelly clourful 'things' placed in urinals just before having the test,
Persistantly saying "This is bullshit" throughout the whole precedure - I'm sure the cop will eventually believe you and take you home after cancelling the breath test.


Sorry - I'll update my list of cast-iron methods to defeat breath tests.

But can I just clarify: "Eating one those smelly colourful 'things' placed in urinals just before having the test". Are you serious? And ... erm ... had it been in the urinal for a while, or did the person just happen to have a fresh one about his person?

[Usarka]

So the few that you guys have not listed do actually work????

[scumdog]

Sorry - I'll update my list of cast-iron methods to defeat breath tests.

But can I just clarify: "Eating one those smelly colourful 'things' placed in urinals just before having the test". Are you serious? And ... erm ... had it been in the urinal for a while, or did the person just happen to have a fresh one about his person?

I guess it was plucked out of the urinal - he didn't smell of it when he arrived - and he didn't have the key to the cleaners store either.

[Patrick]

Heh heh heh...

The new big ones don't work... only the smaller half dissolved ones do... and eat more than one.... Swish it around for ages first for best results...

Don't forget the soap... the bar of soap in the dunny at our base has the perfect teeth impression left from the bite taken out of it... Farken hillarious...

Definitely get the "idiot" to check with the courts but if he does know the coppers details, check with him... Could be that the blood result came back at 80 or less, meaning no offence and he was too lazy to let him know...

[JimO]

he wont want to contact the cop in case his case had fallen down a gap at the back of the cops desk and has been forgotten about the last thing he wants to hear is....ello ello ello you look familiar .......oh that reminds me where did your paperwork go???

[spudchucka]

Oh yeah, forgot to add: about 1 in 900 people get the result they want with a blood test.:doh:

(Lower than the equivalent breath level)

I have never had a blood test come in under the breath test on a pro-rata basis.

[Pancakes]

and the old fail safe, don't drink and drive, am I the only one who knows that little secret?

[Sanx]

and the old fail safe, don't drink and drive, am I the only one who knows that little secret?

No, you're not. I happily support drink drive blitzes / booze buses / random breath testing as they get bloody dangerous idiots off the road.

Which is precisely the reason I dislike seeing cops concentrating on speeding and handing out pointless little tickets - it does precisely bugger all to improve road safety. The current speed-focus has been in place for the last five years and the road toll, which had fallen year on year from 1991 to 2002 (when this started, has plateaued - despite the increasing prevalence of stability control airbags, ABS, etc in the vehicle fleet. And that's not taking into account a massive rise in hospitalisations. It's becoming obvious even to the dumbest of politicians that telling the populace that you're driving safely if you're doing 99kph, but you're a potential child murderer at 101kph, is at best disingenuous. At worst, it's completely counter-productive.

Of course my personal viewpoint, even if it is backed up with statistics and research studies from across the world, is nothing to do with the fact that I never drink and drive / ride, but do rather enjoy zipping about at speeds that'd get me in a fair amount of trouble.

[Patrick]

I have never had a blood test come in under the breath test on a pro-rata basis.

True... divide the result of the breath test by 5... (ie: the limits for example are 400 ^ 5 = 80)

Bloods come back higher than that...

And cost more too

[Jantar]

My brother-in-law (not the one who is a cop) was breath tested at 402 (2 over the limit). He asked for a blood test and came back at 76 (4 under the limit). The factor in his favour was that he was stopped within a couple of minutes of his last drink, and all breath tests and the blood test were completed quickly. I'm sure that if he had acted in a manner to delay the blood test he would have been over.

[marty]

402 is bullshit. even the old lion alchometers only read in 10's.

anything 434 and under defaults back to 400. both the intoxyliser 5000 and seres had this feature. it's why lots of people blow 400 exactly, and if you do have a 440 reading and take blood, the blood may come back at 80

there is also a 3 or 4 milligram (can't recall exctly) default set onto the blood result, (a bit like a margin of error) so if your reading is measured at ESR at 84, the published result is 80.

[Jantar]

I did not see the breath reading, so can only go on what I was told, but I did see the letter that had the blood reading, and it was 76. Of course I don't believe he would have asked for a blood sample to be taken if the breath reading was exactly 400 though.

[fireliv]

Definately get ure Bro in law to go into the local court and see if there is a charge. If a summons to court was unable to be served for some reason then a warrant may have been issued, so best he checks.
If there isnt one- I guess he's lucky

[Griff]

But can I just clarify: "Eating one those smelly colourful 'things' placed in urinals just before having the test". Are you serious? And ... erm ... had it been in the urinal for a while, or did the person just happen to have a fresh one about his person?

Eating Blue Cake's don't work if the guy BEFORE you was pissed out of his skull AND urinated on it. If you can't be sure, go eat your own pooh. Chances are that the police will not even let you back in the interview room.

(Please let me know if this works though...thanks).

[Da Bird]

402 is bullshit. even the old lion alchometers only read in 10's.

anything 434 and under defaults back to 400. both the intoxyliser 5000 and seres had this feature. it's why lots of people blow 400 exactly, and if you do have a 440 reading and take blood, the blood may come back at 80

there is also a 3 or 4 milligram (can't recall exctly) default set onto the blood result, (a bit like a margin of error) so if your reading is measured at ESR at 84, the published result is 80.

7 milligrams tolerance in the blood but usually comes back higher than the equivalent breath level anyway.

[pritch]

DISCLAIMER: I could be completely and utterly wrong about all the above.

Golly SD, I trust you haven't had a dreadful life changing moment?

I do hope this unaccustomed caution on your part is just one of the signs of advancing years. :whistle:

If you aren't careful you'll soon be prevaricating as much as old rider and me...

[Winston001]

It almost sounds as thought the blood specimen was lost but I'd keep a low profile if I was your bro-in-law.

[Patrick]

That, or its come in under the limit and the cop is "pissed" off and letting him sweat?

So... are the blue piss cakes tastier than the red ones???

[ynot slow]

Have heard "fishermans friends" cough lozengers work on the sensors,not blood obviously,my came in at over 850 and second was 828mcg breath,due to no meal,drinking reasonably,(not sculling shitloads),and at a mates place knowing we'd had a few thinking we were drinking low alcohol,only to find a shitload of lion red empties next day,and lots of low shit in fridge,seemed his little cousin didn't know the difference in bottles as he kept filling the glasses for us.Lesson learnt.

[Usarka]

Know the feeling but thankfully didnt get busted. Asked the old man to get me amstel light at the pub. was driving home wondering why i felt a little wobbly. turned out he left out the "light" part when ordering and i'd gobbed a couple of 5% pints and i woulda been over the limit.