You’ve had a few beers, but it’s been a while and you’re telling yourself nothing’s going to happen? You could be very wrong. If you get pulled over by the police and you puff, you’re going to have to slap yourself pretty hard and you’ll still get demerit points. And the same applies if you’re cycling through the vineyards and can’t resist a stop at a wine cellar. In this article, we’ll tell you what specific penalties you’re facing and how much a millilitre is too much.
Alcohol significantly affects your ability to drive a car, both physically and mentally. Specifically, it causes:
Have you received a ticket or summons?
The penalties can be high and it is not worth going through the process without consulting a lawyer. A lawyer can help you with the right arguments as well as with obtaining evidence. In some cases, they will ensure that your actions may not be considered an offence at all. In most cases, it will then be possible to get the penalties reduced.
Alcohol content varies from one alcoholic beverage to another, and so does your ability to break down alcohol. In general, however, for the average 70-pound man , a pint of ten will raise your level by 0.3 per mille, and a twelve-pack by 0.4 per mille. If you indulge in two decibels of wine, it will be about 0.43. A small shot of 40% rum or vodka is equivalent to 0.12 and a large one to 0.27. And if you have something even harder, like plum brandy or absinthe, one large shot can give you 0.4.
However, we don’t usually stick to just one drink, but have, say, 4 beers and three large shots of rum. Together, these add up to almost 2.5 per mille of alcohol, and we’ll break it down for up to 17 hours. We can forget about driving that night or first thing in the morning.
Tip: What to do in case of a traffic accident? Read our next article.
Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream through the stomach and small intestine. Approximately 20% is absorbed in the stomach and 80% in the small intestine. After ingestion, alcohol reaches its maximum concentration in the blood in about 30-90 minutes. Thereafter, the blood alcohol level begins to decrease, which takes several hours, depending on the amount of alcohol consumed and other circumstances.
The rate of absorption depends on various factors. The biggest influence is the amount and type of food in the stomach and individual metabolic differences. In general, however, on average, alcohol is broken down at a rate of about 0.1-0.2 per hour.
In the Czech Republic, there is zero tolerance for alcohol behind the wheel. This means that drivers must not have any alcohol in their blood. However, there is a buffer zone, which is set at 0.24 per mille. The blood alcohol measurement is not 100% and can be distorted.
The zero tolerance also applies in Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, for example. In Croatia or Germany, the limit is set at 0.5 per mille, except for novice and professional drivers. In the UK and Ireland, you can legally breathe up to 0.8%.
A breath test is mandatory whenever a police officer stops you , regardless of the reason. The breath test process itself is conducted by asking the driver to take a deep breath in and then exhale smoothly into the mouthpiece. At this point, there is only what is known as an ” orientation” measurement, which is simply to determine whether the driver has alcohol present in his or her blood.
If the device assesses the presence of alcohol in the blood, it moves on to a professional measurement after five minutes. For this purpose, only the Dräger device is used, which is the most accurate and the only one that serves as evidence in the event of further investigation. In the event of a positive result, you do not necessarily have to undergo a medical examination with blood sampling.
If you do not want to take a breath test, you have the right to do so. However, this automatically carries a penalty as it is an offence. You face a fine of between 25,000 and 70,000 crowns, six penalty points and a driving ban of up to three years in administrative proceedings.
Tip: Learn what an offence is and when it is committed.
It can happen that you breathe in even though you are 100% sure that you have not consumed any alcohol. This can be due to, for example, residual alcohol in the mouth (e.g. from medication or mouthwash), due to illness (e.g. in the case of diabetics) or a problem on the alcohol tester’s side.
In this case, you have the option of insisting on a blood alcohol test by your doctor. However, this does come with a few problems. Firstly, you will have to pay for the test yourself and secondly, the police officer is not obliged to take you back to your car.
The severity of the penalty depends on your blood alcohol level as follows:
Tip: Have you been charged with felony DUI? You will only succeed in court if your defense is bulletproof. We will conduct a careful analysis of your case and design a criminal defense procedure in which we will vigorously enforce your rights.
It also doesn’t pay to get behind the wheel with a drink because if you accidentally cause an accident, you will have to pay for everything out of your own pocket. Even compulsory insurance won’t save you in this case. The insurance company will pay the amount, but will then recover it from you. And you can also forget about the money from the breakdown insurance.
Finally, it’s worth remembering that alcohol doesn’t belong behind the handlebars of a bicycle either. In fact, there is zero tolerance for cyclists too. Failure to do so can result in an administrative fine of between CZK 7,000 and CZK 25,000.
Riders on a non-powered craft have an advantage over cyclists in that they can enjoy a beer or two. The 0.5 per mille limit applies to them. However, this applies only to coxswains; other boaters are not restricted at all. An exception to the rule are certain high-risk sections (e.g. on the Elbe River from Přelouč to the state border), where alcohol is not tolerated at all.
Drink-driving in the Czech Republic is strictly regulated with zero tolerance, reflecting the serious risk that alcohol poses to road safety. Alcohol impairs reaction time, coordination, judgement and the ability to judge distances and speeds, which significantly increases the risk of road accidents. Penalties for drink driving increase with higher blood alcohol levels, with maximum penalties including imprisonment and heavy fines. The same strict rule applies to cyclists, while drivers have more lenient limits, but with exceptions for certain sections. It is important to note that insurance does not cover damages caused by a drunk driving accident, which means additional financial risk for drunk drivers.
Have you received a penalty or summons? The penalties can be high and it is not worth going through the process without consulting an attorney. Careful reasoning also pays off if you want to draw attention to someone else’s offence.
Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 10 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
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