I thought that anybody charged with driving or being in
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charge of a vehicle while having excess alcohol in his blood, and convicted, must be penalised by having his licence suspended. In a court report I saw the other day, a van driver charged with being "in charge" escaped this penalty. Is this correct?
Section 6 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 makes it an offence for a person to drive or attempt to drive a vehicle on a road or to be in charge of a vehicle if the alcohol in his blood exceeds 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. However, the penalties for driving or being in charge are not the same. The court must disqualify a person convicted of "driving" but has discretion if the conviction is for being "in charge." In other words, for the latter offence, the magistrates need not disqualify the offender if they do not think the nature of the offence warrants it.