Drinking on the Left

I have a friend who was working in England. He decided to take a short holiday and drove his English car back to Romania.
One day he went out on a trip with a friend who was a policeman.
On the road they were stopped by an on-duty policeman who walked over to the left-hand side of the car. "I must see your papers, Sir."
The off-duty policeman asked why.
"I want to know if you have been drinking."
"My papers are O.K. but I have drunk a bottle of wine."
The on-duty policeman took the papers in order to prosecute him. He would have to pay a big fine.
"But why must I pay a fine, you idiot! I wasn't driving!"
GAVRILA