Alcohol related offences in Cyprus are subject to criminal prosecution with the intention of punishing drivers who are under the influence of alcohol while driving. People charged and prosecuted for a drunk driving offence in Cyprus need to contact a criminal defence lawyer in Cyprus with experience to alcohol related offences (also known as DUI or DWI or DDD offences).
Drunk driving offence in Cyprus is the act of driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Drunk driving is defined as driving with a specific amount or percentage of alcohol in blood which can be calculated through breath or blood tests. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level is a result, primarily of three factors: the amount of food in the stomach, the rate of which liquor is consumed and body weight. Drivers do not realize the dangers and the consequences of drinking and driving. The role of alcohol is raising the probability of driving accidents and increasing their severity. Drunk drivers have the following characteristics:
- affected reason or mental ability,
- impaired affects,
- excited emotions,
- losing control or bodily actions or motions so the ability to safely drive a motor vehicle is reduced to any extend.
Driving under influence (DUI) and driving while intoxicated (DWI) in Cyprus refers to the same crime which often require the representation of a criminal defence lawyer in Cyprus. Drinking alcohol or taking drugs may affect your ability to drive the car. Both offences are serious offences that often require the assistance of the lawyer. Both categories include drinking while driving. Driving Under Influence (DUI) and driving while intoxicated (DWI): Commonly called “drunk driving” it refers to driving motor vehicle while blood alcohol content is above the legal limit set by the laws, which is the prescribed level at which a person cannot drive safely. The examination does not have to confirm that the defendant was drunk, but that the defendant had enough alcohol in his/her system that possible affecting him/her while he/she was driving. DUI means that the defendant was driving or was in physical control of a motor vehicle, and at the time the defendant was operating the vehicle, the defendant’ s blood alcohol level was above the legal limit.
Drunk Driving Defence/offence (DDD) in Cyprus: In connection to criminal proceedings, an accused drunk driver may face a fine or imprisonment or even automatic disqualification from driving (driver’s license suspension).
It is a drunk driving defence in Cyprus for a person charged with an offence to prove that at the time he is alleged to have committed the offence, the circumstances were such that there was possibility the alcohol to be dissolved from the body and/or the proportion of the alcohol in his breath or blood to be decreased.
Drivers do not generally have the right to refuse to take alcohol test, and failure to cooperate normally with the police, results in the same consequences of DUI and DWI offence. Often a license suspension and/or fine for failure to take the test is as long as what results from DUI and DWI offence. Evidence that a defendant refused the test can be admitted against the defendant in court as evidence of a guilty state of mind.
