Drink driving in public place

Convicted Driver Insurance

monkey1313

New Member
Hi, my husband stupidly drove after drinking beer on Saturday evening. He visited McDonalds and then drove home and was reported by someone who saw him there who said that he was driving eratically and had no lights on. He was visited by police officers once he arrived home and was breath tested at 108 microgrammes.

I have several questions for which I would really appreciate advice:

1) He had a previous drink driving conviction 12 years ago which no longer appears on his driving licence. Will the magistrates court be aware of this and take this into consideration ?
2) Because he was in a public place (McDonalds) will this be considered as 'aggravating' his offence?
3) Will there be a duty solicitor at the magistrates court to whom he can speak before he is seen ?
4) He has been told to be at court for 9.30am. Do the court operate on an appointment basis or do they tell everyone to be there for that time and then work through on a case by case basis?

He will obviously, and rightly, lose his licence. I was concerned as to what kind of fine he would face and whether there was any possibility of prison time?

Any advice will be gratefully received.
 
If a person has a previous conviction for drink driving within the preceding 10 years then this will automatically result in a 3 year disqualification. As your husband's conviction is outside this time frame this will not be applicable, however the Court may well take it into consideration as an aggravating factor. The offence of drink driving requires that it take place on a road or public place so the fact that he was at McDonald's should not be considered an aggravating factor.

There is always a duty solicitor at Court and it is very rare that they would not at least be available to speak to someone and offer some advice about the case. However whether or not they would be able to represent them will depend on how busy the Court list is and how severe some of the other cases are.

If his bail time is 9.30 am then he is required to be there at this time, however the hearings themselves do not start until 10 am and as you say, the Court will simply work through them case by case and in no particular order.

The sentencing guidelines for your husbands reading advise the imposition of a 23-28 month disqualification and a community order. The Court would normally only consider a custodial sentence for a reading of 120 and above, so unless there were serious aggravating factors surrounding the case (e.g. multiple previous convictions for similar offences, a serious accident occurring etc.) then this should not be an issue. As he will be given a community order there will not be a fine, although he will still be liable for prosecution costs, the victim surcharge and the criminal Court's charge.
 
Hi, many thanks for your answers.

This will be his 3rd drink driving offence over a period of 30 years (11 years between each of them). Will they consider that a reason for a custodial sentence?

He is now seeking treatment for alcohol addiction - is it worth mentioning that to the court as well?

Once again, thank you for your help. It is very much appreciated.
 
I would not think that the previous offences would necessarily cause the Court to consider a custodial sentence, although they will certainly be treated as aggravating factors. I would however advise that your husband takes to the hearing some proof of his attendance or booking of an alcohol treatment programme. The Court will be concerned by his pattern of offending and this will help to indicate that he is now taking steps to address this and reduce the chances of any further offences taking place.
 
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