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Drink Driving Solicitors

If you are accused of drink driving, it is vital that you seek legal advice from specialist drink driving solicitors, as early on as possible.

Being convicted of drink driving can have life-changing consequences, as it could impact upon your ability to do your job and affect your personal life. Drink driving is a complex area of law and obtaining legal advice from experienced drink driving solicitors, can make a real difference regarding the penalty you receive.

Maximum penalty

The sentence will depend on the seriousness of the offence and can include a driving ban, a fine or even a prison sentence. The maximum sentence for driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol is an unlimited fine and/or 6 months in prison.

Complex issues

It is vital that anyone accused of drink driving seek expert legal advice from specialist drink driving solicitors who can advise and defend you.

What does the law say about drink driving?

Driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol is an offence according to Section 5(1)(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988:

“If a person…drives or attempts to drive a motor vehicle on a road or other public place…after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath, blood or urine exceeds the prescribed limit he is guilty of an offence.”

It is also an offence to be in charge of a motor vehicle with excess alcohol in your system in Section 5(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

What are the UK legal alcohol limits for drivers?

In England and Wales, the alcohol limit for drivers is:

  • 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath
  • 107 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine
  • 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood

Any driver having above these amounts would be committing a drink driving offence.

How many units of alcohol is the UK limit for drivers?

There are many different factors which affect how quickly an individual metabolises alcohol. As such, it is extremely difficult to have a blanket rule of how much alcohol it is safe to drink before driving and still be under the legal limit.

What happens if I am caught drink driving?

If the police suspect someone driving, attempting to drive or in charge of a vehicle has been drinking, they can ask them to take a breath test.

Failure to provide a breath test without reasonable excuse is an offence and will result in an arrest.

If the person does not pass the breath test, they will then be taken to the police station for a second, evidential sample of breath. Then, if this test shows a positive result for drink driving, the person will be charged with a drink driving offence.

Which court deals with drink driving offences?

Driving or attempting to drive after consuming excess alcohol is triable summarily only. This means a Magistrates’ Court deals with this offence.

This is also the case for being in charge of a vehicle with excess alcohol.

What is the sentence for drink driving?

The sentence will depend on the seriousness of the offence and can include a driving ban, a fine or even a prison sentence.

The maximum sentence for driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol is an unlimited fine and/or 6 months in prison. The driver will be disqualified from driving for at least 12 months. This could be reduced if the driver agrees to complete a drink-drive rehabilitation scheme (DDRS) course.

If the offender has received 2 or more driving disqualifications of 56 days or more in the past 3 years, they will be disqualified for a minimum of 2 years.

If they have been convicted of a relevant offence in the past 10 years, they will be disqualified for at least 3 years.

The maximum sentence for being in charge of a vehicle with excess alcohol is a fine of up to a maximum of £2,500 and/or 3 months in prison. The offender could also receive 10 penalty points or lose their licence.

Anyone convicted of causing death by dangerous driving with excess alcohol could receive a 14-year prison sentence, a lengthy driving disqualification, an unlimited fine and the need to resit an extended test in order to get their driving licence back.

How is a drink driving sentence calculated?

Drink driving sentences are worked out with regard to the level of alcohol discovered in the breath, blood or urine test.

Once the court has worked out the starting point sentence with this information, they can then adjust this sentence depending on any aggravating or mitigating factors.

Example drink driving sentences

The alcohol limit in England and Wales for drivers is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

If an offender was discovered to have between 81 and 137 milligrams, the starting point would be a Band C fine and a disqualification of between 12 and 16 months.

If an offender was found to have between 276 and 345 milligrams (and above), the starting point would be a 12-week prison sentence and a driving disqualification of between 29 and 36 months.

If either of these offenders had been convicted of another relevant offence in the past 10 years, the driving disqualification could be much longer.

What are aggravating factors for drink driving offences?

Aggravating factors for drink driving, which can increase the seriousness of the offence, include:

  • Poor weather conditions
  • The offender was driving an HGV
  • The offender was carrying passengers
  • There was evidence of an unacceptable standard of driving
  • There were lots of pedestrians nearby (or lots of traffic)
  • They were involved in an accident

What are mitigating factors for drink driving offences?

Mitigating factors for drinking driving, which can decrease the seriousness of the offence, include:

  • The offender had his/her drink spiked
  • They had driven a very short distance
  • There was a genuine emergency
  • The offender has no previous convictions
  • The offender showed remorse
  • The offender has a learning disability or mental disorder
  • A reduced sentence can be received for pleading guilty. However, this would not result in a reduced length of driving disqualification.

Why do I need specialist drink driving solicitors?

Being convicted of a drink driving offence can have serious consequences. Receiving a driving disqualification of any length can result in everything from job loss (if your job depends on you driving), to difficulties in your personal life.

As a result, it is vital that anyone accused of drink driving seek expert legal advice from specialist drink driving solicitors who can advise and defend you, if necessary.

Client was on bail for assaulting his infant son. Social services reported the claim, but there was no evidence, only the mother’s statement that the boy was injured by evening. Client explained the injury occurred when the boy fell off a bouncy castle, which was confirmed by four family members. By obtaining statements and submitting them to the police, we demonstrated the lack of evidence, and the case was dropped with no further action.

My client was accused of historic domestic abuse allegations. The police provided written disclosure in advance of an interview, and we were able to go through this and provide a four-page statement detailing evidence to the contrary on each allegation. The statement and evidence provided was so detailed that the police had no questions to put to my client, meaning that the interview process was far less stressful than he envisaged.

Client was on bail for domestic abuse in relation to his wife. This had been dragging on for some time. We were able to obtain the particulars of the allegations from the police and then to go through them with the client. We were then able to obtain evidence that contradicted the allegations, including statements from friends, which showed that the allegations could not be true and so the police took no further action against the client. By obtaining case details, going through these with the client, speaking to witnesses and obtaining corroborative evidence, it was possible to show that the allegations were fabricated.

Client was a health care professional employed on an agency basis. There was a historic allegation made by a former client. We were able to obtain the particulars of the allegation from the police and then to set about obtaining evidence from witnesses who could cast doubt on the allegations and serve this evidence upon the police and push them for a swift resolution. The client had been on a lengthy period of police bail at the time he instructed us, and we were able to speed the process up, which was key as the client was unable to work and had no income during the lengthy period of bail.

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