Many drivers might think that the threshold for being prosecuted for drink-driving must involve the engine running and the car moving, but this isn’t always the case
Drivers could face a fine or even a driving ban for being drunk in their car without even starting the engine. Many motorists could be under the misconception that they must be driving their vehicle in order to be prosecuted under drink-related driving laws.
However, Section 4 (2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 declares it an offence to be “in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle which is on a road or other public place” while being “unfit to drive through drink or drugs”.
Typically, the police categorise this as a DR50 driving offence, convicting someone for being in control of a vehicle while unfit due to alcohol. Data obtained by Select Car Leasing via a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request from the DVLA reveals that 288 people were successfully prosecuted under DR50 charges between 2021 and 2024.
The FOI request also reveals that 2,178 motorists were successfully prosecuted under a DR40 charge, which is the offence of being in control of a vehicle while over the legal alcohol limit. Graham Conway, managing director at Select Car Leasing, said: “If you’re inside a vehicle with the keys you could be prosecuted under the DR50 offence.
“That means if you’ve had a few too many and fancy sleeping it off in the back seat, you may still end up with a fine and ban.”
Fine for DR40 and DR50 convictions
The DVLA and police use offence codes to categorise driving offences, setting fixed penalties for each one. For those caught under the DR50 or DR40 offences, fines can soar up to £2,500 alongside a haul of up to 10 penalty points.
Both of these convictions will also remain on your driving record for four years, either from the date the offence was committed or from the date of conviction which which resulted in a driving disqualification.
Drink-drive limit
Strict limits for the level of alcohol allowed in the body while operating a vehicle are set out through government guidelines. Police will generally use a breathalyser test to measure the amount of alcohol in a person’s body.
However, they may also decide to test this with either a blood or urine test. The legal limit for all of these can be found below, with separate limits allowed in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK.
Graham added: “Obviously, the best approach is not to drink any alcohol if you’re going to drive your car.
“Although there are some rough guidelines out there, there’s no way of knowing how a few pints or glasses of wine could affect your ability behind the wheel, as factors such as age, weight, gender and the amount of food you have consumed all come into play.
“It’s also important to bust the myth that drinking a coffee or having a shower will sober you up quickly enough to drive safely – it can take hours for alcohol to leave your system. A mistake many people make is to believe they are fit to drive the morning after, no matter how much booze they consumed the night before.
“It is very possible to be still over the limit and as a result be a danger to other road users and risk losing your licence.”