The consequences of failing roadside alcohol testing in the NT

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Failing alcohol testing in the Northern Territory is not the worse consequence when you think of the potential outcomes of driving while over the limit.

You’re driving home after having a couple of drinks with mates at your local pub, when you see a Northern Territory Police alcohol testing station up the road. Your mind quickly starts doing the sums, trying to work out if you’ll be under the limit and, if you’re not, what the consequences will be.

In this blog, we’ll do the sums and answer the questions for you. We’ll look at how much you can drink before you’ll be over the 0.05 blood alcohol level (BAC) as well as what the potential consequences are in the Northern Territory. As we’ll see, while the second question is relatively easy to answer, the first isn’t.

How much can you drink to stay under 0.05 BAC?

Calculating BAC without undertaking alcohol testing isn’t easy, in part because it involves several factors.

On average, a person can process one standard alcoholic drink per hour. We also know that for an average person, a standard drink will raise their BAC by 0.015. This means that if you drink three standard drinks within one hour you would likely be very close to 0.05. However, it becomes more complicated after the first hour. Drinking another three standard drinks in the second hour results in a compounding effect, likely pushing your BAC well over the legal limit.

Making this calculation more complex are two other factors. Firstly, there is “standard drinks”, which don’t always match the typical serving sizes. For example, a standard drink of wine is only 100ml, but many restaurants serve glasses that are 150ml or more. Secondly, there are individual factors like age, body size and health, as well as varying conditions like tiredness or food intake.

All this makes it impossible to predict BAC precisely until alcohol testing is undertaken. Which is why you should always use caution and be conservative when estimating BAC.

If you are over 0.05, what are the consequences in the Northern Territory?

When it comes to consequences for failing roadside alcohol testing in the Northern Territory, the answer is more defined.

Your fine and licence suspension will depend on your BAC at the time of the offence and if you’ve previously been convicted of drink driving. At a minimum, you’re likely looking at a $400 on the spot fine, a licence disqualification of three months and a loss of three demerit points.

You can see more about the drink driving penalties in the Northern Territory on the NT Government website.

Failing alcohol testing isn’t the worse consequence

While fines and licence suspensions are designed to discourage people from drink driving, they are far from the worst consequences you can face if you drink and get behind the wheel. That’s because drinking alcohol – or taking drugs – reduces your ability to drive safely. You could:

  • Have an accident and damage your car or other people’s vehicles or property. Generally, your insurance provider will not cover you if they can prove you were over the limit at the time of the accident.
  • You could injure or kill yourself.
  • You could injure or kill others.

If you do injure someone else in a road accident in the NT and you are over the legal limit, you could face serious consequences, including a jail term. If you kill someone, it’s highly likely you will be charged with dangerous driving causing death. The penalty in this situation is up to 10 years imprisonment.

No, failing alcohol testing in the Northern Territory is not the worse consequence.

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Failing alcohol testing in the Northern Territory is not the worse consequence when you think of the potential outcomes of driving while over the limit.

By Michael

Michael is the founder of Integrity Sampling and is responsible for overseeing all national operations. He is based at Integrity Sampling's head office in Melbourne and is also responsible for the co-ordination of drug and alcohol testing within Victoria, assisting in the implementation of drug and alcohol (fit for work) policies and the presentation of drug and alcohol education and awareness programs. You can connect with Michael Wheeldon on LinkedIn

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