🚨 If a UK Officer Says "I Can Smell Alcohol" — Say THIS (One Sentence)
Oliver Bennett
114,473 views
It's an ordinary morning. You feel completely fine. An officer leans into your window, takes a breath, and says it — quiet, almost friendly: "I can smell alcohol on you. Have you been drinking?" And your instinct is to explain — "that was last night," "just a coffee," "it's my mouthwash." That instinct is the single most expensive reflex you have at that window. Because "I can smell alcohol" is rarely the end of anything — it's the beginning, and the words you say back are what he walks through. In this video I give you one calm sentence — completely legal — that hands the officer everything the law entitles him to and not one word more, plus the exact road-traffic law behind it, what really happens from the roadside to the station, and the second trap that jails people who were never even over the limit.
I'm Oliver Bennett. For fifteen years I defended people in police stations and courtrooms across England and Wales, and I sat with too many drivers who were stone-cold under the limit and still lost their licence — not because of what was in their blood, but because of what came out of their mouth. This isn't legal advice; it's the plain-English version of what I wish every driver in this country knew before that window ever came down.
📘 The exact wording — what you must do, what you never have to say, and the calm line to say it with — is in one short, plain-English guide to your rights in any police encounter in England & Wales: the Know Your Rights handbook. 👉 https://knowrightsuk.gumroad.com/l/kn...
⏱ CHAPTERS
0:00 — "I can smell alcohol on you"
2:10 — Who I am
2:40 — What a drink-drive conviction really costs
3:14 — DR10: 11 years on your record
3:59 — The morning-after trap (still over at breakfast)
4:55 — The law: he CAN require the test (s.6)
5:53 — The limit — and why your words only hurt you
6:44 — What actually happens at the station
7:56 — The three mistakes people make
8:50 — The one line — Say THIS
10:05 — If he pushes: the follow-ups + "I don't consent"
11:07 — The SECOND trap: refusing the station test (s.7)
12:24 — The one narrow exception (a real medical reason)
12:55 — The myths: one pint / mints / "I wasn't even driving"
14:09 — If you're stone-cold sober
15:12 — The Know Your Rights handbook
15:34 — How it sounds when it goes right
17:47 — Bring it home
18:21 — Before you go
📋 WHAT THIS VIDEO COVERS
✅ THE TRAP: "I can smell alcohol" is often a fishing line. Your panicked explanation ("I only had two," "that was hours ago") becomes the admission that builds the case — long before any machine confirms a reading. The reading can only help you; your mouth can only hurt you
✅ YOU CANNOT REFUSE THE TEST: under s.6 Road Traffic Act 1988, an officer can require a roadside breath test on reasonable suspicion (a smell is often enough). Refusing without a genuine medical reason is a criminal offence on its own — so you DO take the test. Taking the test and answering his questions are two completely different things
✅ THE LIMIT: England & Wales is 35 micrograms per 100ml of breath (80mg blood). It's a number the machine checks — it doesn't check your explanation
✅ AT THE STATION: the roadside device is only a screener; the evidential test is at the station, where under s.8 they use the LOWER of two readings, and you won't be charged unless it's at least 40 micrograms
✅ THE ONE LINE: "I'm happy to take any breath test you require, officer. But I'd rather not answer questions about what I've had to drink." — total co-operation with the law, total silence on the confession
✅ THE SECOND TRAP: refusing the evidential STATION test (s.7) is punished almost exactly like drink-driving — a mandatory 12-month ban, an unlimited fine, and up to 6 months in prison — even if you'd have blown clean. Co-operate with every test; stay silent only on the questions
✅ THE MYTHS: "one pint is fine" (the limit measures your body, not your drinks) · mints/coffee/a big breakfast do nothing (only time does) · "I wasn't even driving" — you can be prosecuted for being drunk while merely IN CHARGE (s.5), and it applies on any road or public place, including a pub or supermarket car park
✅ AT THE STATION, ASK FOR THE FREE DUTY SOLICITOR before you answer anything — day or night, it costs nothing
⚠️ DISCLAIMER
General information on the law of England & Wales — not legal advice, and absolutely not a way to help anyone drive over the limit. If you're over, the test will find it. Laws and thresholds change and every situation differs. Never drink and drive; stay calm and never obstruct an officer.
#ICanSmellAlcohol #DrinkDriving #KnowYourRights #UKLaw #BreathTest #PoliceStop #SayThis #RoadTrafficAct #OliverBennett #KnowYourRightsUK
20 Comments
'I think I can smell alcohol.'
Answer
'Isn't drinking on duty an offence.'
My mate went back to finish the kip. In the morning he got up for another wee and looked down at his keys laying in the bushes! So he wiped them clean and drove home. So losing them done him a favour as the police bully tactics had to stop with nothing to charge him with. So if ever you have to sleep in your car for any reason,make sure no keys are in the car!
I remember a man was pulled over for speeding took the breath test and just failed he was taken to the station where he passed the breath test.
He was then told that he was going to be reported for doing 34 mph.
At this point the man said to the custody sergeant’ “O.K. If that’s the case then I want the driver of the Police vehicle reported for driving his vehicle with a headlamp out.”
At this point the custody sergeant said “ No”
The gentleman said “ can I speak to a duty solicitor “
Then at this point, the sergeant said that it wasn’t in anyone’s interest to pursue either offence any further.
at 1:25 "So, the next few minutes I'm going to give you one calm sentence, completely legal, completely polite, that gives the officer everything the law entitles him to and not one word more"
The magic sentence comes at 8:55 "I'm happy to take any breath test you require, officer, but I'd rather not answer questions about what I've had to drink".
"The next few minutes" = 7 minutes 30 seconds
🚨 If a UK Officer Says "I Can Smell Alcohol" — Say THIS (One Sentence)
Oliver Bennett
114,473 views
It's an ordinary morning. You feel completely fine. An officer leans into your window, takes a breath, and says it — quiet, almost friendly: "I can smell alcohol on you. Have you been drinking?" And your instinct is to explain — "that was last night," "just a coffee," "it's my mouthwash." That instinct is the single most expensive reflex you have at that window. Because "I can smell alcohol" is rarely the end of anything — it's the beginning, and the words you say back are what he walks through. In this video I give you one calm sentence — completely legal — that hands the officer everything the law entitles him to and not one word more, plus the exact road-traffic law behind it, what really happens from the roadside to the station, and the second trap that jails people who were never even over the limit.
I'm Oliver Bennett. For fifteen years I defended people in police stations and courtrooms across England and Wales, and I sat with too many drivers who were stone-cold under the limit and still lost their licence — not because of what was in their blood, but because of what came out of their mouth. This isn't legal advice; it's the plain-English version of what I wish every driver in this country knew before that window ever came down.
📘 The exact wording — what you must do, what you never have to say, and the calm line to say it with — is in one short, plain-English guide to your rights in any police encounter in England & Wales: the Know Your Rights handbook. 👉 https://knowrightsuk.gumroad.com/l/kn...
⏱ CHAPTERS
0:00 — "I can smell alcohol on you"
2:10 — Who I am
2:40 — What a drink-drive conviction really costs
3:14 — DR10: 11 years on your record
3:59 — The morning-after trap (still over at breakfast)
4:55 — The law: he CAN require the test (s.6)
5:53 — The limit — and why your words only hurt you
6:44 — What actually happens at the station
7:56 — The three mistakes people make
8:50 — The one line — Say THIS
10:05 — If he pushes: the follow-ups + "I don't consent"
11:07 — The SECOND trap: refusing the station test (s.7)
12:24 — The one narrow exception (a real medical reason)
12:55 — The myths: one pint / mints / "I wasn't even driving"
14:09 — If you're stone-cold sober
15:12 — The Know Your Rights handbook
15:34 — How it sounds when it goes right
17:47 — Bring it home
18:21 — Before you go
📋 WHAT THIS VIDEO COVERS
✅ THE TRAP: "I can smell alcohol" is often a fishing line. Your panicked explanation ("I only had two," "that was hours ago") becomes the admission that builds the case — long before any machine confirms a reading. The reading can only help you; your mouth can only hurt you
✅ YOU CANNOT REFUSE THE TEST: under s.6 Road Traffic Act 1988, an officer can require a roadside breath test on reasonable suspicion (a smell is often enough). Refusing without a genuine medical reason is a criminal offence on its own — so you DO take the test. Taking the test and answering his questions are two completely different things
✅ THE LIMIT: England & Wales is 35 micrograms per 100ml of breath (80mg blood). It's a number the machine checks — it doesn't check your explanation
✅ AT THE STATION: the roadside device is only a screener; the evidential test is at the station, where under s.8 they use the LOWER of two readings, and you won't be charged unless it's at least 40 micrograms
✅ THE ONE LINE: "I'm happy to take any breath test you require, officer. But I'd rather not answer questions about what I've had to drink." — total co-operation with the law, total silence on the confession
✅ THE SECOND TRAP: refusing the evidential STATION test (s.7) is punished almost exactly like drink-driving — a mandatory 12-month ban, an unlimited fine, and up to 6 months in prison — even if you'd have blown clean. Co-operate with every test; stay silent only on the questions
✅ THE MYTHS: "one pint is fine" (the limit measures your body, not your drinks) · mints/coffee/a big breakfast do nothing (only time does) · "I wasn't even driving" — you can be prosecuted for being drunk while merely IN CHARGE (s.5), and it applies on any road or public place, including a pub or supermarket car park
✅ AT THE STATION, ASK FOR THE FREE DUTY SOLICITOR before you answer anything — day or night, it costs nothing
⚠️ DISCLAIMER
General information on the law of England & Wales — not legal advice, and absolutely not a way to help anyone drive over the limit. If you're over, the test will find it. Laws and thresholds change and every situation differs. Never drink and drive; stay calm and never obstruct an officer.
#ICanSmellAlcohol #DrinkDriving #KnowYourRights #UKLaw #BreathTest #PoliceStop #SayThis #RoadTrafficAct #OliverBennett #KnowYourRightsUK
questions about what I've had to drink." You TAKE every test they lawfully require — roadside AND station — and stay silent
only on the drinking questions. Refusing the station test (s.7) is punished like drink-driving even if you'd have blown
clean. It's all in the Know Your Rights handbook 👉 https://knowrightsuk.gumroad.com/l/know-your-rights
And the one that catches good people: you can still be over the limit the morning after, feeling completely fine. Ever been
told "I can smell alcohol" when you were sober? Tell me below. 👇