Camping in your bus and drink driving

I've often wondered how when your camping in your bus or wild camping or not on a proper campsite the drinkdriving rules work if you've had a few drinks and your in charge of your bus and got your keys on you, Now I no it would take a anal copper to do you if its obvious your not gonna drive but has anyone come across this ???

 

What is the legal definition of being in charge?

There is no legal definition for the term "in charge" so each case will depend on its exact circumstances and facts. Generally, a Defendant is "in charge" if he was the owner/in possession of the vehicle or had recently driven it. He is not in charge if it is being driven by another person or is "a great distance" from the vehicle.

Matters are more complicated where a person is sitting in the vehicle or "otherwise involved with it". In charge can include attempting to gain entry to the vehicle and failing, having keys to the vehicle, having intention to take control of the vehicle or even "being near the vehicle".

Food for thought

 

If you have the bed pulled out, curtains drawn and bags and clothes chucked on the front seats I can't see there being any trouble. Just take the keys out of the ignition.

 

There was a big discussion about this on the T4 forum a while back- I think one of the lads on there is a copper and basically said if you're drunk, in your vehicle with your keys, you can be seen as 'drunk in charge'. If you're wild camping I can see it being a problem, but if you're on a campsite I can't see it being an issue.

 

law states that even if you have a set of car keys in your pocket while drunk you are still in charge of a vehicle , the only why i no this is it was done here in derry , man lost his licence , owen nw

 

I suppose then just swap keys between yourself and your mate unless you're alone. Alternatively, take the ignition key off your set and attach it to the underside of the van. Technically, that's outside the van.

 

You're still in charge if you have the keys on you. The best thing is to hide them somewhere.

 

In the old US of A if you are in the car, without the keys, you are still in charge of the vehicle and will be done for drink driving.

There was a british chap that was drunk, gave his keys to a friend after unlocking the car and went to sleep. The five-o arrested him and charged him with drink driving.

 

I am probably wrong but I always thought motorhomes were exempt from this as they have a bed and are designed to be slept in. Common sense etc

 

I think it really depends if your on private land or the public highway, if you have to many sherberts in a pub and ask the kindly landlord if you can sleep it off in the carpark that is private land, then can't see a problem, if as others ave said, your in a layby then may be worth savinhg the sherbert for another time.

Does all boil down to common sense of the officer asking you the questions I guess.

 

my brother used to work in a nightclub in Birmingham - there was a band on one night so he knocked off early and went and got hammered. He stumbled back to work to kip in his car - he was parked on double yellows so was woken in the morning by a traffic warden. They smelled alcohol on his breath and called the Police. He couldn't find his keys - they had slipped down between the seats and centre console. He was arrested for being over the limit in charge of a motor vehicle. It went to court, his defence produced the CCTV footage of him stumbling into his car in the early hours and falling asleep in the passenger seat. The prosecution argued that he was so hammered he intended to drive but passed out in a drunken stupor before he got the chance. Although he was in the passenger seat, didn't have the keys on him and clearly did not intend to drive, he was banned from driving for 2 months for being in charge of a motor vehicle whilst under the influence of alcohol and over the legal limit. He received a massive fine too.

This cost him his job at the time and he was left with the stigma of being a convicted 'drink driver'.

Had he been driving I would 100% agree - I think drunk drivers should be locked up, no ifs no buts, but in this case the law got it wrong. I wouldn't go anywhere near a car on a public highway if i'd been drinking, except a taxi or a sober friends car.

 

I see some people in the Vfestival thread are thinking or have in the past stayed in their bus in the tesco carpark, thats what made me think about this, so would they be liable to a charge if they'd been drinking

 

What about on the Sunday after a vw weekend when you've clearly been on the sherbet and more and probably still over the limit but have x miles to drive home?

 

So what if you put a combination safe in the van, Put the ignition key in there when drinking. If drunk and coppers pull up. Keys in the safe "hey I've had a drink who knows what the code is" You can't start the vehicle so technially not in charge of ther vehicle.

In all cases its a case of how far they want to take it.