Mid range drink driving is a serious offence in Queensland and carries potentially significant penalties should you be charged with it.

Below we’re going to explore how mid range drink driving works in Qld, when it applies and what is likely to happen if you’re charged.

What Is Mid Range Drink Driving in Queensland?

Once you’re over the lawful limit of 0.05% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in Queensland, there are three classes of drink driving offence.

Low range drink driving, as we discuss here, is the lowest unlawful BAC to be driving with.

However, once you hit a BAC of 0.10% if you are found driving then you’ll be at risk of being charged with mid-range drink driving. Mid-range drink driving starts at the BAC of 0.10% and goes up to 0.15%.

As we’ve done before, let’s use the BAC calculator to explain what that looks like in real terms.  You might be inside the mid-range drink driving :

• are an 80kg male who has consumed 7 standard drinks in 2 hours
• are a 60kg female who has consumed 5 standard drinks inside 2 hours
• are a 100kg male who has consumed 11 standard drinks in 5 hours
• are an 80kg female who has consumed 9 standard drinks in 6 hours

Probably the most common time you’re going to fall into this range is if you’re out for a long lunch or an evening at the pub. You’ll have a more significant number of drinks over an extended time, but your BAC won’t necessarily reduce as quickly as it would with just a couple of drinks in a short time.

In practical terms, at a “middle alcohol range” with a BAC of between 0.10% and 0.15% you could have slurred speech or blurry vision, feel a bit uncoordinated, and your mood may be affected. Some people might experience nausea or vomiting in this BAC range.

It will take around 6-10 hours for your BAC to get back to zero after you stop drinking at this level, so take that into account if you’re driving later or the next day.

Will you Lose your Licence with a Mid Range Drink Driving Offence?

Unlike low range drink driving, if you’re caught driving in a mid-range alcohol level than your licence will be immediately suspended. It’s going to stay that way until the charge has been withdrawn or dealt with by the Court.

If you haven’t had a drink driving charge before and a Court convicts you of mid range drink driving then you’re going to get a longer licence suspension somewhere between 3 and 12 months, as you’ll see in the table below depending on your class of licence.

Fines and Imprisonment for Mid Range Drink Driving Qld?

Other than licence suspension, mid range drink driving can also carry a maximum fine of $2,669 and 6 months imprisonment, as set out in the table below:

Will Mid Range Drink Driving Result in a Court Hearing?

Yes.

Dealing with a charge of mid range drink driving requires you to go to Court unless the charge is withdrawn.

There is also a chance for some kind of custodial sentence (that is, jail time) for mid range drink driving.

Because of the seriousness of the charge and possible outcomes, we recommend you retain a lawyer for this kind of matter.

The Court process and setting can be confusing and challenging, and having an experienced lawyer to speak for you can make a big difference to the overall outcome.

Will a Conviction Be Recorded for Mid Range Drink Driving?

With mid range drink driving there’s a good chance that a traffic conviction will be recorded.

The offence is considered to be quite serious, in particular if there has been a collision or incident while you were driving under the influence of alcohol.

Things that Make the Penalty Worse

We’ve set out in our article on low-range drink driving the kinds of things that can result in more severe penalties.

Those same factors will apply to a mid-range drink driving charge particularly if you are caught driving whilst suspended.

Need a Lawyer for Mid Range Drink Driving?

Mid range drink driving carries some potentially very serious consequences, not just for your licence but also the potential of large fines, insurance premium increases and jail time.

This is a time where you need to hire a lawyer to represent you.

The first and best thing you should do is to get in touch with us so we can help you through the process. Don’t give a statement to police or engage with anyone on the prosecution side of things without seeing us first.

You can get in touch here, and we’d be happy to help.