Drink driving offences
Expert traffic lawyers to help you navigate drink driving charges
If you’re charged with a drink driving offence, you may be facing serious penalties such as licence disqualification or even imprisonment. This can have a significant impact on your life and your loved ones.
It’s helpful to understand how South Australian drink driving laws operate, and, importantly, when to seek legal advice. These things can often significantly affect how your charges are handled. Here’s some key information about drink driving offences and how traffic laws operate in South Australia.
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Frequently asked questions about drink driving offences
What are the different types of drink driving offences?
In South Australia, there are three drink driving offences:
- Driving with a prescribed concentration of alcohol (PCA)
- Driving under the influence (DUI)
- Failing or refusing to blow (refusing to follow directions for breath testing).
What should I know about the offence of driving with a prescribed concentration of alcohol?
If you hold a full South Australian driver’s licence, any reading of 0.05 or over is a prescribed concentration of alcohol (PCA) and is an offence.
The offence is committed by simply having the prescribed concentration of alcohol in your body when driving. It doesn’t matter whether you were impaired (affected) or whether your driving was impaired. In other words, proof of impairment is not necessary for this offence.
PCA penalties depend on the range of alcohol and whether you have any prior offences because the mandatory minimum disqualification period increases for second and subsequent offences.
Here are the penalties for a first offence PCA.
Offence | Minimum licence disqualification | Fine | Demerit points |
Category 1 PCA 0.05 – 0.079 | 3 months (although an , in which case there is no disqualification) | Expiation fee or $1100 | 4 |
Category 2 PCA 0.08 – 0.149 | 6 months (usually with an immediate licence disqualification) | $900 – $1300 | 5 |
Category 3 PCA 0.15 or over | 12 months (usually with an immediate licence disqualification) | $1100 – $1600 | 6 |
NOTE: If you go over your demerit point limit, you may face a further demerit point disqualification that starts at the end of the mandatory disqualification. (Include this in table as a note for the demerit points column.)
Although magistrates can impose longer licence disqualification periods, they don’t have any discretion to waive (cancel) the disqualification period, despite any personal hardship you may suffer because of the disqualification.
When you plead guilty or are found guilty of a PCA offence, there’s no such thing as a work licence or restricted licence that will allow you to drive in some circumstances. If your licence is disqualified, you won’t be allowed to drive at all.
In limited circumstances, a Magistrate can reduce the mandatory minimum disqualification period to as little as one month where the offence is “trifling”. However, in our experience, this is rare. If the offence is a normal or typical example of its kind, it can’t be considered trifling.
What should I know about the offence of driving under the influence?
Driving under the influence is commonly known as DUI.
This offence is charged when you’re so intoxicated (drunk) that you’re incapable of exercising effective control of your vehicle. Your blood alcohol reading isn’t relevant.
DUI is a difficult offence to prove because the prosecution must be able to show that the inability to control a vehicle is due to intoxication rather than something else.
A DUI charge is much less common than a PCA charge.
If you’re found guilty of a DUI offence, the penalty includes:
- A mandatory minimum licence disqualification of 12 months, and
- A fine in the range of $1100 – $1600, and
- Six demerit points.
Also, imprisonment is possible, and penalties are more significant for second or subsequent offences.
If you’re reported or arrested for DUI, you would likely be issued a 12 month Instant Loss of Licence or Notice of Licence Disqualification.
What should I know about the offence of failing or refusing to comply with breath testing directions?
If a police officer tells you to submit to an alcotest (a breath test), failing or refusing to comply is an offence.
If you do fail or refuse to comply, the police must follow legal procedures, for example, telling you that if you don’t comply, you will be committing an offence.
The penalty is the same as for DUI, including:
- A mandatory minimum licence disqualification of 12 months, and
- A fine in the range of $1100 – $1600, and
- Six demerit points.
Also, imprisonment is possible, and penalties are greater for second or subsequent offences.
What is the Alcohol Interlock Scheme?
If you’re convicted of a “serious drink driving offence”, the Alcohol Interlock Scheme (AIS) applies. These offences include:
- Category 3 Offence where the PCA is15 or over
- DUI
- Refusing or failing to comply with breath testing directions
- A second Category 2 offence where the PCA is between 08 and 0.149.
Under the AIS, you must have an alcohol interlock device fitted to your vehicle at the end of the licence disqualification period.
This requirement has some exceptions, but meeting the exemption criteria is almost impossible.
You must pay to install and service the interlock device.
Are there any defences to drink driving offences?
South Australian drink driving laws are complex and require police to follow special procedures before they can rely on evidentiary aids to prove the offence.
An evidentiary aid is a document that automatically counts as legal proof of the facts set out in that document, for example, that a breath testing device was used correctly. Because of this, it’s difficult to defend a charge where an evidentiary aid is used.
Generally, the only way to defend a drink driving charge is with a technical argument to exclude an evidentiary aid, so the prosecution can’t prove the charge.
Drink driving charges are also strict liability offences, meaning there’s no need to prove that you intended to commit the offence.
For these reasons, and because of the potentially severe penalties for drink driving offences, we recommend seeking help from an expert traffic lawyer if you’re charged with drink driving.
How we can help
Drink driving charges can significantly impact your life because of the potentially severe penalties, including loss of licence and imprisonment. If you’re charged with drink driving, you need to consider whether your goal is to keep your licence. If it is, and we can’t negotiate a lesser penalty with the prosecution, your only option may be to go to trial. This carries its own risks, for example:
- Increased penalties if you’re found guilty
- Managing complex and technical issues due to calibrated devices such as breathalysers
- Significantly higher legal expenses.
For these reasons, you should discuss your options with an experienced traffic lawyer.
Traffic law is what we’re known for and what we do best. We understand the legislation and case law, and our technical knowledge is so detailed that we know how to avoid or minimise a licence disqualification.
We want you to be well-informed at every stage of the legal process, so we’ll discuss the risks and benefits of each option to help you make decisions about the charges.
And we’ll let you know if it’s not possible to avoid a licence disqualification. It’s all about ensuring we achieve the best possible result.
Get in touch for more information about drink driving offences.