In short, the limit for drink and drunk driving are as follow:

a) if the driver is found with more than the legal limit of 35 microgrammes (ug) of alcohol per 100 ml of breath, or
b) more than 80millimigrammes (mg) of alcohol per 100ml of blood

But even if you are within the limits, the Traffic Police has the right to charge you for drink driving.  It is worse if you are involved in accidents, injured someone or simply violate other types of traffic rules.  In summary, no matter how much you drink ( within or NOT within limits) please think twice before you go behind the wheels.  It might not be just all that worth.

This portion tells you in a nutshell what are the penalties for Drink and Drunk driving:
The penalty of drink driving in Singapore is as follow :
1st offence – Fine of between $1,000 and $5,000 or up to 6 months imprisonment
2nd offence – Fine of between $3,000 and $10,000 AND up to 12 months of imprisonment
3rd and subsequent offence – Fine of up to $30,000 AND up to 3 years of imprisonment.

I have place emphasis on the AND because it is something that is NON NEGOTIABLE at all.  Been to the court 21 ( Traffice court ) many times and after seeing so many cases been trialed.  Even those repeat offenders who got themselves a lawyer, it does not help at all.  First offenders are briefed over and over again and made to sign the statement to know that they are going to JAIL for second or more offence of Drink driving.  So if you already have a record, the best is to plead guilty and ask for a shorter sentence.

For cases which accidents and third parties are involved, the treatments are very different.  I am sure that there is a standards of treatment for all cases but it is not known to the public.  For most injury cases, final verdict will also depend on how serious the parties are injured, and also whether the other party is at fault too.  BUT if you are drunk / or found drinking above the limits, I would say the other party will get the better of you and fight for all the punishment to be placed on you.  The quantitative measure result of the breath will be your ultimate killer.  Which means to say, as emphasized upteen times, don’t ever go on the roads after you have had alcohol.  Sometimes, the misjudgement will make you drink more and end up in this unecessary state.

If you have gotten yourself into a third party or accident, this is where you make the call to decide whether you want to engage a lawyer.  In my opinion, if the TP decides to charge you three or more charges which one of them is drunk driving, then no point going to court 21 and try to defend for yourself.  You will be smack in the face and might even leave a bad impression to the judge ( whom most of the time are the same few and they do remember names).  Unless you are ready to go to Jail.  Spend that money, think of solving the problem and hire a lawyer.  Many will say that lawyers are a waste of money.  But if you really did commit the offence, there is no reason to go on trial, with all the CCTV strewn all over the roads in Singapore and motorists fixing cameras in their vehicles, you will be in for show and the spotlight is on you.  Evidence will be easy to gather.

The lawyer will be able to advise you better and give you the angle to approach the matter, usually for the heavier drunk driving offenders , the psychological method is deployed.  You will need to fork out another few thousands for a psychological report.  The report is usually to show that your body is not able to handle the alcohol and why you consumed alcohol.  This could be a double edged sword but it is worth the try.

What lawyers can do is to negotiate for a lighter sentence and fight for you to be out of custody.  I mean if you are holding a prestigious job, this is ultimately what you will need.  Unless you want to be on the papers.  Last thing to do is to argue on court and make a scene, which I happened to witness one of such.  The offender has ended up in jail.

 

I hope all these information will be helpful to you. If you need more information, you can download my free ebook here. It compiles all my knowledge about the law on drink driving and drunk driving and what to do when you are caught.