Driving ban and fine for failing to provide breath specimen

Saturday 16 July 2022

Failing to provide a breath specimen has cost a man £1,000 and a four-year driving ban.

Rob Hunt (57), cooperated with a roadside breath test and one test at the police station, but refused to give another sample at the station.

Hunt was pulled over outside the Co-op Locale at Royale Terrace on 13 May after a member of the public alerted police that they believed Hunt was drink driving. 

Officers reported that Hunt was slurring his words, smelt of alcohol and that his eyes were glazed, so a roadside breath test was administered.

Pictured: A roadside breath test saw Hunt provide a reading nearly three times the legal limit. 

Hunt admitted that he had had “a couple of beers” and gave a reading of 99 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath. His reading at the police station was 113 micrograms. The legal limit is 35 micrograms.

Hunt refused to provide a second breath sample in the intoxilyser room. He was not charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and was instead charged with failing to provide a specimen, without reasonable excuse.

Body-worn CCTV footage, which was shown in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday, showed Hunt initially cooperating with officers. Duty Advocate, Phoebe Cobb, acknowledged that the footage then showed Hunt becoming “increasingly stressed” and “relatively difficult”. 

Hunt was seen swearing at officers and being uncooperative in the footage. 

Pictured: Hunt was sentenced in the Magistrate's Court on Thursday. 

Advocate Cobb said that Hunt had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and that he considered the incident to be “the biggest mistake of his life”. 

She said that Hunt was “clearly uncomfortable” watching the CCTV footage and that his actions had been out of character.

“Mr Hunt was having a very difficult day (on 13 May). He had hoped to travel to the UK to attend a funeral for a friend who he served with in the military, but he had been unable to travel,” she said. 

“He received a phone call from an attendee at the funeral and then decided to have a pint to celebrate the life of his friend, which led to more and more pints.”

Advocate Cobb said that Hunt’s decision to then attempt to drive home was a “very stupid” one, which he regrets. 

“Mr Hunt is a hard-working member of the community and served 10 years in the military,” she said. 

“He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder seven years ago, which related to his military service. He has been assessed as a low level of reoffending.”

Advocate Cobb said that, although Hunt was considering returning to the UK, he would stay on-island if a community service order was imposed. 

Pictured: Advocate Cobb said that Hunt had intended to have one pint to celebrate the life of his friend on the day of his funeral. 

Judge Gary Perry said that there would be no compulsion for Hunt to complete any community service hours if he returned to the UK. 

Judge Perry gave Hunt credit for his guilty plea, however said credit was limited due to the strength of evidence against Hunt. 

“I note that you are previously of good character, with your last offence being 1995 I am not required to give any regard to it,” he said. 

“I note your many years of service. You should know how difficult it is to be in a position of service like the police officers. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Judge Perry said that Hunt's sentence needed to be substantial for both the seriousness of the offence and to give a clear message that people cannot refuse to provide breath samples in an attempt to avoid consequences. 

Pictured: Hunt's four-year driving disqualification is limited to Guernsey. He will be able to drive under his UK licence outside of the Bailiwick. 

Hunt was ordered to pay a fine of £1,000, of which £600 was payable immediately and the remainder to be paid the following day. 50 days in prison was given as a direct alternative for failure to pay the fine. 

Judge Perry also imposed a four-year driving ban but noted that this would only be applicable in Guernsey. He said that, should Hunt decide to return to the UK, that he would be allowed to drive under his UK licence, but that he must declare the Guernsey disqualification to his UK insurance provider.