Our criminal team can offer you expert legal representation, and advice, if you have been stopped by the police on suspicion of drink driving. In such cases it is important to seek legal advice as soon as possible to ensure you are able to receive the best advice on options moving forward.
Our in depth knowledge of drink driving testing procedures and legislation, enables us to get straight to the point and ensure that our clients are treated justly.
How driving offence solicitors can help
B P Collins has a high success rate when it comes to defending driving matters. Our success is built on our strong desire to protect the interests of our clients.
We can challenge cases involving:
- A breath test
- A urine test
- A blood test
- Drunk in charge of a motor vehicle charges
- Driving while unfit through drink charges
The process of appearing in court can be a stressful experience, however, it is crucial that you enlist the help of an expert drink driving solicitor, as there are potential defences to the criminal charge process that you may not have been aware of, which can save your licence, job, and day-to-day life.
Obtaining a drink driving conviction
A police officer may ask anyone to take a preliminary breath test at the roadside if they have reasonable cause to suspect that they are under the influence of alcohol and:
have committed a motoring traffic offence;
have been in an accident; or
are the person driving, attempting to drive or in charge of a vehicle on the road or in a public place, such as a car park.
If a person is suspected of drink driving and/or fails the roadside breath test, they will be placed under arrest and transferred to a police station where they will be required to provide two breath samples for analysis. There can sometimes be a matter of only a few days between the arrest date and the first court hearing, so it is imperative that you contact a lawyer as soon as possible following an accusation of drink driving.
How serious are drink driving penalties?
Drink driving penalties can be extremely severe, because drink driving is viewed by the courts as serious. This is due to alcohol’s known effect on the judgement and abilities of a driver and the potential that an incident could cause serious harm to a driver or other members of the public.
Penalties can vary considerably depending on the circumstances of the case. While some cases can be successfully defended, this is not always the result and, in some instances, focus should be placed on ensuring any sentence is kept to a minimum. The criminal team at B P Collins is experienced in presenting mitigation to the court and where possible, make sure your penalty is no harsher than it needs to be.
If you are alone, these cases are difficult to deal with due to the fact that you must provide evidence against yourself by submitting test samples of breath, blood and/or urine at a police station. This can provide potential opportunities for defences if the police have failed to follow the correct processes as you give evidence against yourself.
The penalties for drink driving
Being caught drink driving can be a life-changing, especially for those who rely on driving for their jobs or to help out family and friends. Following a conviction for drink driving, the court may impose a disqualification from driving. The court can also issue an unlimited fine.
Depending on the circumstances, the court could also impose the following penalties:
- Up to six months in prison
- A community order
- Disqualification from driving for a minimum of 36 months (if you have been previously convicted of the offence in the last 10 years)
- An extended driving test
If a second drink driving offence is committed within 10 years, the minimum disqualification of one year is increased to three years, while there may also be a greater chance of custody or a community order, depending on the circumstances.
In many drink driving cases, due to the nature of the offence, drivers may have committed another offence, such as speeding, drug driving or using a mobile device. If you are charged for multiple motoring offences, your penalties could quickly rack up and become significantly more severe.
You can take our Drink Drive Penalty Calculator below to find out what the penalty could be for your motoring offence.
