Taxi driver fails breath test while passenger in the back

Gardaí were conducting a checkpoint on Watling Street in Dublin city when they stopped a taxi with a passenger onboard.

Dublin Castle Roads Policing Unit said the driver proceeded to fail a roadside breath test.

The driver was arrested by officers on suspicion of driving under an intoxicant. 

Court proceedings will follow for the motorist. 

 The Road Traffic Act 2006 allows the Gardaí to breathalyse the drivers of vehicles without the need to have formed the opinion that the driver had consumed an intoxicant.

Penalties on conviction for drink driving vary depending on the amount of alcohol that has been detected.

The maximum penalty for drink driving is €5,000 or six months in prison or both.

The court will also take into account whether this is your first offence or otherwise. Under the penalties introduced by the Road Traffic Act 2006 all convictions for drink driving carried a mandatory disqualification from driving.

If you hold a valid licence/permit at the time of the offence and your alcohol level is below a certain limit, you will be issued with a fixed penalty notice.

If you pay the fine stated on the notice within 28 days, the additional penalty stated on the notice will be imposed but you will not have to go to court.

You are not eligible for a drink driving fixed penalty notice if you have received a similar notice within the previous three years.