Rules Police Must Follow When Dealing With a Drink Driving Suspect

Here we discuss some general rules and guidelines that police need to follow when dealing a suspected drunk driver. You will find more general information about police powers procedures on our police powers and procedures page.

The Two Hour Rule

Courts are concerned with the accuracy of blood alcohol tests. It is therefore important that a blood alcohol test, for taken for evidentiary purposes be conducted correctly and within certain time limits.

Police cannot rely on a breath test if it was taken 2 hours or more since you last drove your car. Therefore, if the test was taken more than 2 hours after you drove, that reading may not be able to be used for evidentiary purposes to prove that you were intoxicated. There are some cases where this rule is breached by Police.

If you feel that police breached this rule while dealing with your case, it is very important that you contact us immediately.

Home Safe

Generally, police have no power to require you to submit to a breath alcohol test at your home (the place where you normally reside).

If you were required to submit to a breath alcohol test at your home, it is very important that you seek expert legal advice as soon as possible.

Other Rules

There are a number of rules police must follow relating to how police conduct the proceedings and how evidence is handled. We recommend speaking to an expert DUI and drink driving lawyer as soon as possible to go over your case to determine if police breached any rules in dealing with your case.