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GARDEN ROUTE BUSINESS NEWS - The December holiday period and festive season is a time that all South Africans look forward to all year and what could be better than spending it with family or friends?
What makes the festive season even better is to be standing next to a “braai” with a good old South African thirst quencher in hand! There is nothing wrong with this, if you take the right decision before, during or after the braai, to either sleep over, or to hand over your car keys to someone who did not consume alcoholic drinks.
Failure to do so could change your lovely holiday into a nightmare.
Even if a person feels completely sober, his / her alcohol level may still be higher than the legal 0.05g per 100ml of blood. There are many factors that can affect this level so do not burn your fingers by taking a chance.
Should it happen that a person is stopped in a routine roadblock, or stopped due to an abnormal driving pattern, the authorities may arrest the driver if they reasonably believe that he/she is under the influence of alcohol. The arrested person will be taken to a hospital or clinic where a blood sample can be obtained by a qualified person, to be analyzed later by the forensic laboratory. It is important to remember that the blood sample must be obtained and properly sealed within a period of 2 hours.
Following from here the arrested person will be taken to the police cells and charged with drunken driving. Just like any other suspected offense, such a person will be brought before the court within 48 hours (excluding weekends and after hours). The State sees this offence of drunken driving in such a serious light, that they are currently considering changing legislation on police bail which might result in a situation where an arrested person will appear before a court within 48 hours, and then be kept in custody for a period of 7 days, for the State to prepare for a formal bail application.
If such a person is then later found guilty, he/she will bear the burden of a criminal record for the rest of their lives. Should such a person cause an accident while he/she was driving under the influence, and someone is injured or even killed, the driver can be charged with manslaughter and even MURDER. In such a case, direct long-term imprisonment becomes a definite sentence option. Even if a person is only convicted of drunken driving, the law stipulates that the court orders an investigation into his/her ability to be in the possession of a driver's license and the court may order that the license be suspended.
So, enjoy this festive season in full, but rather burn the chops than your fingers! DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE!!
For any further information or enquiries regarding this article please contact Ferdi Scheepers of Rauch Gertenbach Attorneys at 044 – 601 9900, by e-mail on office@rgprok.co.za or in case of emergency, 083 77 22 777.
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