"That decision had potential to cause serious harm to him and others."
The allrounder, a star of Australia's World Cup triumph earlier this year, was detained overnight then released on bail and will face court in Manchester on July 21.
The incident happened the night before Faulkner was due to play a Twenty20 fixture and he was subsequently stood him down from Friday night's clash with Yorkshire.
Faulkner faces a further ban of between two and eight games from Cricket Australia.
"He's got a code of behaviour hearing and that deals with criminal offences," Howard said.
"They'll have a good look at it and make a final decision.
"We'll take that information on board as well, in terms of dealing with selectors.
"If he's only available for part of the tour or something like that, we might just say - sorry you're off the tour.
"You can't cop this. He knows that."
Faulkner was not picked in Australia's 17-man Ashes squad, meaning he would only have been called up if Shane Watson and Mitch Marsh were injured.
Australia face England in a five-game ODI series after the five Tests, when Faulkner would have been among the first picked in the XI.
The 25-year-old said in statement he had "let people down".
"I can't excuse my actions," Faulkner said.
"My decision to drive was an error in judgment.
"I apologise unreservedly and accept any penalty handed to me by Cricket Australia and the relevant authorities."
Howard discussed the issue with some members of Australia's Ashes squad on Friday.
"The couple of blokes I've spoken to completely understand it, there are consequences for actions," he said.
"He's had a very good record, but he's made a very big mistake here.
"We're working on it together. I'm really disappointed."
Faulkner suffered a side strain in February and was in doubt for the World Cup.
But he returned during the group stage and snared three wickets in the final against New Zealand to earn man-of-the-match honours.
- AAP
