A couple of mates and i were chatting in the boozer the other night,as you do, One of them asked the question;- “If you were parked up somewhere overnight and you had just had your evening meal and decided you were going to have a few bevvies, supposing you were then technically over the limit and had then settled down for the night , then you get a knock on your cab door by the “friendly” local plod asking you to move your vehicle because they they had considered that you had parked in an unsafe place and park somewhere more suitable,What should you do”? I replied that as i would be " over the limit" i could not move but i don’t know the legal stance on this situation.
Any suggestions?
Roy…
technically if you where to come out of a pub over the limit and climb into your truck then the police could nick you staight away for being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle.
irrispective of whether you are parked up for night.
this does not happen that often but it has happened in the past.
Hypothetical answear tell them to [ZB]* off 
On a serious note I’m sure that even if the vehicle is on a public road or a road the public have right of way to use then you can be done for being in charge of a motor vehicle even if you’re tucked up nice and cosy in the bunk.
May be wrong though.
*Done it myself, Clint.
dave:
technically if you where to come out of a pub over the limit and climb into your truck then the police could nick you staight away for being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle.
irrispective of whether you are parked up for night.
this does not happen that often but it has happened in the past.
Dave beat me to it
dave:
technically if you where to come out of a pub over the limit and climb into your truck then the police could nick you staight away for being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle.
irrispective of whether you are parked up for night.
this does not happen that often but it has happened in the past.
True, even on Dover Docks in the good old days, when lots of drivers were weekended there
Would they not have to prove also that you were going to attempt to break the law?, as using the vehicle whilst on a rest would technically be illegal?.
You would have the tacho,s to prove you had no intention of moving the vehicle for x amount of hours and were simply using it a resting place.
Hmmm, i feel this ones going to be long where ex-cop when you need a bit of help?.
if you are drunk and are getting ito a vehicle with the keys in your hand then you are drunk in charge.
whether in a truck or a car. it does not matter if you are going to be parked up for days.
a bloke walking out of the pub and into his car can say hes just getting in to sleep it off to but hes still drunk in charge once hes opened that door.
Not sure about this but along time ago on a different forum it went something like this,the charge is not drunk driving but being drunk in charge of a veichle,so if you immobolise the wagon and leave the keys in the back of the wagon and lock the doors chock the wheels and nod of,who is in charge of the wagon when it can not go anywhere.
dave:
if you are drunk and are getting ito a vehicle with the keys in your hand then you are drunk in charge.
whether in a truck or a car. it does not matter if you are going to be parked up for days.
a bloke walking out of the pub and into his car can say hes just getting in to sleep it off to but hes still drunk in charge once hes opened that door.
Fair enough Dave but he hasnt got a bunk in there!. I heard a story once of drivers swapping their keys to avoid this i dont know if its true but its a bloody good idea andkind of funny.
and hypothetically if you are going to be over the limit that night you are going to be over the limit in the morning so why take that risk of been stopped at any time with alcohol in your system and risk your licence and your livelyhood
but if it did happen and if it needs to be moved tell mr.plod to move it and if he says that he isnt licensed to drive it he dont know nothing as follows from dvla site
Holders of a full category B (car) driving licence may drive any of the large vehicles listed below:
goods vehicle driven by a constable for the purpose of removing or avoiding obstruction to other road users or other members of the public, for the purpose of protecting life or property (including the vehicle and its load) or for other similar purposes;
many moons ago my grandad got points for this offence, albeit in a car - he was asleep in the drivers seat - the copper said if he was in any other seat he would have been ok, but sitting in the hot seat showed intent or something like that - so maybe if you were asleep on the bunk, keys away from the ignition you’d be alright?
I wouldn’t move the vehicle, the police do have drivers with HGV’s to move trucks and I think you would be very unlucky to get nicked unless the situation got a bit out of hand or you had a right jobsworth copper, but it does happen. I don’t think you should really have a skinfull the night before you go to work but if you only had a couple of pints or just enough to put you over the limit you could say in your defence that by the time your break was up you would be under the limit. I think the average rate of clearing alcohol from the system is a unit every 2 hours so in eight hours sleep you could clear 4 pints from your system.
A friend of mine was arrested many years ago after being found asleep in his mate car, his mate was sober had gone the the KFC. The coppers actually had just pulled him in to make sure he wasn’t tempted to drive and had no intention to charge, but just let him sleep it off in the safety of a cell. However the CPS got hold of it and it went to court. All charges where dropped when it went to court and the full story was told, but what also might of helped swing it in the magistrates eyes might have been that my mate was training to be a priest and his mate who owned the car was an RAF officer.
I think you’ll find your only in charge of the vehicle whilst in the drivers seat, after a drink, most drivers normally climb into the passenger seat as there is no restrictions like the steering wheel or gear stick etc for them getting onto the bunk.
If he told you to move, you are legally permitted to refuse as you are on a rest period, to move the vehicle would be an offence as you had driven with insufficient rest, but he does have authority to move it himself providing he holds a driving licence, if it is causing a danger, but if it came to that, you would probably be booked for some offence that they could find such as causing an obstruction etc.
Never mind technically. Greater Manchester Police caused uproar a few years ago by prosecuting over the limit drivers who had been asleep in their bunks. Tachographs showing previous end of duty times ( and therefore no intention to drive for X hours) proved useless as the offence was judged to be complete and that was IN CHARGE of a vehicle whilst being over the prescribed limit. There is no need for the authorities to prove that the accused was driving/trying to drive/intended to drive the vehicle.
Its what the lawyers call an absolute offence, i.e. no defence.
If you want to take this to its absolute limit you are commiting this offence if you are walking home having been to the pub and your car keys are in your pocket. Remember its the IN CHARGE bit they are getting you on.
Just as an aside, the offence came into being as a result of several failed Driving whilst OPL prosecutions when clever lawyers managed to prove that their client was so drunk that they were incapable of driving. Something had to be done so the offence of being in charge came into being.
Last may me and a friend parked up at Ninas(sp) and you all know what the story is there, we didnt swap keys, we parked up, tacho out, and keys on dash, not ignition. Mr policeman comes to mates door and asks him to move to which the cop was told where to go! Cop had to radio back to base for advice on arresting my mate to which he was told to leave it, as the keys werent in ignition and the driver was due a break,wasnt parked illegally, cards were clean and that drivers parked there all the time, especially Irish drivers…
Oh how I wish he had came to my window!!!
I dont condone drink driving in any way, shape or form, but we were weekending and had a few pints(not over the top) but I think it has to come down to principal.
When plod goes home and has a nice red with dinner, we have to park up at a weekend and drink Fanta!!
Regards
Kev
i know of a young girl who got done for sitting in a car ( passenger seat) with the engine running as it was cold and her boyfreind (who does not drink) was in the pub seing one of his friends,the police said because she had a few drinks and the engine was running she got done with being in charge of a motor vehicle whilst under the influence of alcohol.pc plod must have been going for promotion.
Police can nick you for being drunk in charge if the keys are in the vehicle so hide them somewhere once you have gained entry.
Tell them you are on break and refuse to move the vehicle but if they can provide a driver to move it then when he finds the keys let him.
The easiest way is to make sure you are parked out of the way.
I have been reading the arguement on this topic, the police cannot do you for being drunk while asleep in the cab as long as you sleep with your head behind the passengers seat so you are 6ft away from the steering wheel.As for moving it i would say i have had a drink and would be breaking the law.
Lots of interesting replies!!!, I normally only drink at weekends ,i.e:- fridays/saturday nights when i’m nowhere near a vehicle. but occasionally when i’ve had a meal i’ve got a couple of cans from the offy and then locked myself in my cab and for the next 11 hours shut out the rest of the world.
My mate who’s a coach driver has been asking me that question for ages that’s why i asked you guys!
cheers anyway
roy…
alf apsey:
I have been reading the arguement on this topic, the police cannot do you for being drunk while asleep in the cab as long as you sleep with your head behind the passengers seat so you are 6ft away from the steering wheel.As for moving it i would say i have had a drink and would be breaking the law.
how would they know you had your head behind the passenger seat , you would have to get up to answer the door;).