Drink driving offences in Singapore

There’s no fixed benchmark of how much you can drink before driving. Different drinks contain different levels of alcohol content. Alcohol impairs the driver’s judgment and coordination. 

When the alcohol enriched blood passes through the lungs, some of the alcohol will be circulated into the air in the lungs which can be detected by a breath sample taken by the breathalyser. 

 

According to the Traffic Police of Singapore, and under the Road Traffic Act, a driver can be found to be convicted of drink driving in the following two instances, even if he has control of the vehicle. 

The two occasions are:

a) if the driver is found with more than the legal limit of 35 micrograms (ug) of alcohol per 100 ml of breath, or 

 
b) more than 80millimigrammes (mg) of alcohol per 100ml of blood

Even when the alcohol level is under the legal limit, the driver can still be charged with drink driving if he gets into an accident, as he is deemed to be unable to have proper control of the vehicle.

Penalty

The penalty of drink driving in Singapore is as follows: 

1st offence - Fine of between $1,000 and $5,000 or up to 6 months imprisonment

2nd offence - Fine of between $3,000 and $10,000 and up to 12 months of imprisonment

3rd and subsequent offence - Fine of up to $30,000 and up to 3 years of imprisonment.

Anyone been found guilty of drink driving will also be barred from driving for at least 1 year, even he or she has not caused any traffic accidents.

For more information, please visit our blog site www.singaporecriminallawyer.com for more information about your rights.

Should you have any questions or need legal representation, kindly contact Gloria James-Civetta & Coon 6337-0469 for a free consultation, or email to consult@gjclaw.com.sg