Refusing a roadside breath test

This is an important question and the short answer is that you can physically refuse, but doing so is a criminal offence in itself, and the consequences can be just as serious as, or even more serious than, a drink driving conviction.

Legal position:

Under section 6 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, a constable in uniform may require a person to provide a specimen of breath for a preliminary (roadside) breath test. This power arises where the officer reasonably suspects that the person is driving, is attempting to drive, or is in charge of a motor vehicle while having alcohol in their body, or has committed a traffic offence while the vehicle was in motion, or following an accident.

Under section 6(6) of the same Act, a person who without reasonable excuse fails to provide a specimen of breath when required to do so is guilty of an offence.

The offence of failing to provide a roadside breath specimen carries a maximum penalty of a fine at level 3 on the standard scale and discretionary disqualification. However, if you are then arrested and taken to the police station and refuse to provide an evidential specimen there (under section 7), the position becomes significantly worse. Failing without reasonable excuse to provide an evidential specimen under section 7(6) carries a maximum of six months' imprisonment, an unlimited fine, and a mandatory disqualification of at least 12 months (or 36 months for a second offence within ten years). The Magistrates' Court Sentencing Guidelines treat this offence in a broadly similar way to drink driving offences and the disqualification period can be lengthy depending on the circumstances.

What counts as a reasonable excuse:

The defence of reasonable excuse is narrow. A genuine physical or medical inability to provide the sample may qualify, for example a severe respiratory condition that makes it genuinely impossible to blow into the device. Fear, panic, or anxiety alone will rarely suffice. The court will look at objective evidence, not simply a defendant's assertion. If you claim a medical reason, you would usually need medical evidence to support it.

Practical reality:

1. If you refuse the roadside test, the officer can arrest you under section 6D of the 1988 Act and take you to the police station.

2. At the station, you will be required to provide an evidential specimen, either of breath on an approved device, or in certain circumstances blood or urine.

3. If you refuse at the station as well, you face the more serious section 7(6) offence, which carries mandatory disqualification and potential imprisonment.

4. The court will typically impose a sentence at least as severe as it would have done for a substantive drink driving offence, and sometimes more severe, because a refusal can be viewed as an attempt to frustrate the process.

5. Refusing does not avoid prosecution. It simply changes the charge from driving with excess alcohol to failing to provide a specimen.

Strategic considerations:

Some people believe that refusing a test removes the evidence against them. In practice, it does the opposite. It creates a separate, standalone offence that is often harder to defend than a straightforward reading just over the limit. If the reading would have been borderline, providing the specimen and challenging the procedure or the reading itself gives better prospects of a successful defence.

If you are ever in this situation and genuinely cannot provide a sample for medical reasons, you should tell the officer clearly and calmly, ask for it to be recorded, and cooperate with any alternative procedure they offer, such as providing blood or urine.

Summary:

You have no legal right to refuse without consequence. A refusal without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence, and refusing at the police station carries mandatory disqualification. In almost every scenario, cooperating with the procedure and challenging any irregularities afterwards through proper legal channels is the better course.