You are not to drive a vehicle if you are under the influence of alcohol to the extent that you
do not have proper control of the vehicle. In such a circumstance, the penalties are:

• First offence – TT$12,000 or 3 years imprisonment
• Second offence – TT$22,500 or 5 years imprisonment and driving suspension for 3 years
• Third offence – loss of your licence PERMANENTLY

The legal limit is set at 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millimetres of breath in Trinidad & Tobago. It’s
important to note that in other jurisdictions this limit is even lower due to the number of serious injuries and
fatalities caused by driving under the influence or driving impaired (DUI). If you are over the limit, an
enforcement officer has the right to arrest you immediately after fulfilling the breath testing. If you are over
the limit on the first breath test, the officer will take another breath sample from an evidential unit, which prints
out your name as well as the time, date, alcohol level, and the officer’s name and badge number.

Police don’t need a warrant to arrest you for this. See our leaflet for more information on the breath test.

The Five Breathalyser DUI offences include:

1) Driving a vehicle under the influence

2) Attempting to Drive – keys in your hand walking towards the vehicle

3) Being in charge of the vehicle – in the back seat of the vehicle but the keys are still in your possession

4) Failure/refusal to provide a breath sample

5) Altering the concentration of alcohol in your breath – tampering!

DRIVER REHABILITATION COURSES

A significant part of the mission of Arrive Alive is to educate the various stakeholders on the complex
issues of road safety through inter-agency collaboration and intervention. We aim to influence the
behaviour of road users.

In 2013, Arrive Alive started facilitating DUI (Driving Under Influence) classes in Port of Spain. By 2015,
we were able to expand the program to include classes in San Fernando. Thus far, we have had
approximately four thousand (4000) participants attend these classes.

With the amended Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act, Chap 48:50 being proclaimed into law on May
26^th 2020, drivers will not only be fined, but they will have Demerit Points lodged against their driving
record. This means that drivers will lose their ‘privilege to drive’ if they exceed the number of Demerit Points in one year.

Arrive Alive is confident that this new system will bolster our law enforcement agencies and be a true
preventative measure in the saving of lives on our roads.

The Driver Rehabilitation Course will teach drivers about risk assessment, hazard perception and about
the need to change driving behaviour to reduce the risks as they traverse the nation’s roads. By facilitating
this course, we aim to ensure drivers understand that choices made on the road can have severe
consequences.

Disclaimer

The materials available at this website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing
legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem.