Drunk From Vape?
A man accused of drink driving claimed his vape put him over the limit.
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by Dave Cross
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Like England and Wales, Northern Ireland has a maximum limit of 35 micrograms of alcohol for every 100 millilitres of breath. Scotland has even lower levels of 22 micrograms of alcohol for every 100 millilitres of breath. Galbraith gave an alcohol/breath reading of 65 - almost double the legal limit.
The police were called to a report of a car in a ditch just after midnight in November, last year. The officers arrived ten minutes later and reported finding the 35-year old chef “unsteady on his feet” and “his speech was slurred”. Galbraith said the crash had happened because of poor weather.
His lawyer said that he was a very frequent user of his electronic cigarette and that this, as he claimed not to have consumed a single drink, must have been the cause of the reading. In anticipating the trial, Judge Perry expressed his interest and worry: “I use these gadgets and I might be committing various criminal offences”.
Galbraith lost his licence due to drink driving ten years previously. This, he claimed, is why he would never get in a car if he’d had a drink. Also, he stated to the court, he only drinks four times a year now. He did say that he had been heavily vaping before the accident, afterwards and fifteen minutes before giving a breath sample.
The keen vaper, who says that he uses about 35ml of eliquid every day, was relying on evidence from an expert witness, analytical measurement scientist Michael Walker. Walker told the court that 2/3s of all juice contains ethanol and said it was a possibility that some could remain in the airway up to fifteen minutes after vaping.
But could this account for the high reading? Probably not, Walker confirmed. The jury came to the same conclusion and Galbraith was found guilty. Judge Perry pointed out that if vaping were to blame then it would have been very difficult for the accused to hold down a job as a chef for two years, and that the possibility of the reading being due to eliquid was highly improbable.
Facing up to the prospect of a ban and a £300 fine, Galbraith said: “The vape put me over the limit, it gave a false breathalyser reading. I am now going to suffer for three years.” He is considering appealing.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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