Drunk from Vape Update
More news regarding the drink driver who claimed his vape pushed him over the limit.
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by Dave Cross
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When tested by the police, Galbraith gave an alcohol/breath reading of 65 micrograms of alcohol for every 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 35 micrograms of alcohol for every 100 millilitres of breath.
The car lay in a ditch following a trip to see a film, but the Ballymena man claimed it was because of adverse weather conditions and not his drink driving. The high reading on the breath test had to be down to his vaping, he claimed. It was a story that the police, and then the courts, found impossible to swallow.
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.
Having been found guilty as charged, the judge then factored in that Galbraith had lost his licence ten years previously for an identical offence. Facing a three-year ban and a £300 fine, Galbraith swore that he would fight on and appeal.
Stewart Ballentine, his solicitor, lodged the appeal with the courts later in September, but news comes that Galbraith has finally accepted his fate. There will be no "new scientific evidence", mainly because no such evidence exists.
As Ballentine confirmed they would not be going ahead with the lodged appeal at the Coleraine County Court, the court has formally ordered the appeal against the charge to be dismissed and affirmed the sentence and conviction.
Galbraith will continue to vape instead of smoking but will now be walking or catching a bus to his job as a chef. We hope he won’t be using eliquid as part of his future culinary delights and do not advise using juice on Christmas puddings.
Photo Credit:
Aaron Galbraith – Belfast Telegraph
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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