Help advice needed desperately

Convicted Driver Insurance

ConfusedSue

Member
I got a phone call from the police yesterday to tell me my husband had driven the car into metal railings, that they suspected he had been drinking but he was unresponsive. He was taken to our local hospital to be checked over.
When I arrived I was told there were no signs of any injury and he had been arrested for failure to provide a breath specimen at the scene.
About an hour later a police surgeon arrived to take a blood sample.
my husband was clearly not aware of what was actually happening and I told the police surgeon that I didn't think he understood what he was being told or asked but as my husband held out his arm and said do what you like the sample was taken.
he was then asked to sign a form by the arresting officers which he didn't do and again I told them I didn't think he understood what he was being asked.
they had originally told me he would taken to the local police station and held in the cells overnight until they were satisfied he was sober but changed their minds and left him at the hospital with me for a couple of hours and he was then sent home.
the police officers have only told me that he will be given a court date but they couldn't give me any idea of timescale or when we would be notified of the blood results.
my husband doesn't even remember being in hospital but is terrified (as am I) that he could be given a prison sentence.


he has had a clean driving licence for 21 years and this is first drink driving offence. He has had problems with alcohol in the past but stopped drinking 2 years ago. However he lost his mum last year closely followed with his gran being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. After a long painful battle, she died at the end of June. He has not been coping well with this and to add to the stress I am 6 months pregnant and have severely limited mobility due to pregnancy related pelvic pain. He is a full time student, working nightshift and looking after me and has not been sleeping well. I think he snapped yesterday and drank a half bottle of vodka before getting back in the car to drive the 5 minute car journey home




how likely is a custodial sentence for a first offence and if not is he likely to face a long ban. I have also seen that max fine is £5000 but he only earns £120 per week and I'm going on maternity leave soon.


I don't condone what he has done but is a judge likely to take into account his personal circumstances and also that he is going to go back to his GP and ask for Disulfarim meaning he won't be able to drink even if he was tempted

also how long is it likely to be before we get the results of the blood test and how long before he goes to court




sorry for the long post but I am beside myself at the idea of him going to prison when we have a baby on the way and I have no idea how we would pay a huge fine
 
I'm afraid I cannot advise on the likelihood of a custodial sentence without knowing what his blood reading was. The Magistrates have a set of sentencing guidelines, and for drink driving offences the appropriate sentence is largely based upon the blood alcohol level recorded. However in general terms the Court are normally reluctant to impose a custodial sentence for a first offence, especially if there are good and compelling reasons to avoid this.

The length of time it can take for the blood specimen to be analysed can vary significantly as it relies on the police sending the sample to laboratory in a prompt and effective manner, and also that the forensic scientist analysing the sample and returning it to the police. Typically they will have the results within 6 weeks and will often call up to let you know what the results are before you attend the police station.

Has your husband subsequently been contacted by the police asking for his permission to have the specimen of blood analysed? If your husband was not capable of consenting at the time the sample was taken the police should subsequently contact him to obtain his consent. It will of course be a matter of fact and degree as to whether he was capable of providing consent at the time but you may want to lok into this aspect. The police should have also offered him his own specimen so that he could have this analysed independently, was this done?
 
Hi

we have heard nothing from the police since they left us at the hospital. They said he had been arrested for failing to provide breath test at the scene but I don't think he's been formally charged with anything and I know he didn't sign anything in hospital.

we were given a blood sample to take home and we are going to have this tested privately so we know what we are dealing with.

i am pretty sure he is going to come back with a reading classing him as a high risk offender and will therefore need to pass a dvla medical to get his licence back after whatever ban they give him. I have had a look at the rest of the forum and the questions ask about alcohol misuse or accident related to alcohol within last 3 years. I assume the answers to this would automatically be yes and from what I can see this would mean the dvla would contact his GP??? The reason I ask is that prior to the incident he had been sober for 2 years and hadn't seen his GP for anything alcohol related since then.

we had been planning to go to his GP next week to get a prescription for Disulfarim (Antabuse). He was given this when he stopped drinking and meant he couldn't drink without making himself really sick. We thought getting a new prescription for this would show the court that he had just had a slip up and was 100% committed to being tee total but could this backfire and make him look like he has more of a problem with alcohol rather than less and could it come back to bite him at the DVLA medical and make it harder to get his licence back.
 
This issue is a long way down the line from the current matter. Depending on the reading the Magistrates may be looking to sentence your husband to a lengthy disqualification which would effectively remove this issue. It would also be entirely dependant on what information your GP gives to the DVLA when asked, the fact that your husband has asked for this medication does not automatically mean that he has been suffering from alcohol dependency recently.
 
That will depend on the contents of the report. If the report states that it would have simply reacted with the alcohol and that you had been unaware of this, then yes it will be seen in a positive light. If you have been specifically advised by your GP not to drink with the medication and advised of any potential issues, and then ignored this then it will be seen less favourably. Again, if the medication itself would impair your ability to drive, regardless of alcohol consumption then the Court may have concerns about your medical fitness to drive.
 
SeanJoyceStephensons said:
That will depend on the contents of the report. If the report states that it would have simply reacted with the alcohol and that you had been unaware of this, then yes it will be seen in a positive light. If you have been specifically advised by your GP not to drink with the medication and advised of any potential issues, and then ignored this then it will be seen less favourably. Again, if the medication itself would impair your ability to drive, regardless of alcohol consumption then the Court may have concerns about your medical fitness to drive.
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He hasn't been on the medication for over as year as it was a tool to help him stop drinking, which he had (was tee total for 2 years prior to the weekend of the incident) The medication itself does not impair driving ability but is used as a preventative measure for drinking as when combined with alcohol it would make him seriously ill.

we had thought that asking the dr for a new prescription would show the court that he had fallen off the wagon during a particularly stressful time and very stupidly drove but that he hasn't drank since and is 100% committed to going back to being completely tee total. Our concern though is that it could backfire and a) make the court think he can't stay sober without it b) cause problems later with the dvla
 
The Court have the freedom to view mitigation as they see fit. You can obviously present the instance in the frame that your husband had suffered a temporary relapse in his issue but immediately redressed this and used medication to ensure that it was effective. Whilst the Court may take a negative view that he is using medication to assist, this would seem a very harsh assessment.

In respect of the DVLA, your husband will only need to show abstinence from alcohol for a period of 12 months to get his driving licence back:
[h=3]Group 1 entitlement ODL – car, motorcycle[/h]Alcohol dependence, confirmed by medical enquiry, requires licence revocation or refusal until a 1 year period free from alcohol problems has been attained. Abstinence will normally be required, with normalisation of blood parameters, if relevant.
[h=4]Licence restoration[/h]Will require satisfactory medical reports from own doctor(s) and may require independent medical examination and blood tests, arranged by DVLA. Consultant support/referral may be necessary.
 
Hi

we still havent heard anything from police or court 10 weeks later. Is there anyway we can check if the sample has been sent for analysis? Also how long after the incident could he still be charged? We tried calling the local police station but as we had no incident number, paperwork or the name of the arresting officer they couldnt tell us anything and just said these things can take some time.

I do remember at the time that the police officers said they had no idea of timescales as they had never dealt with anything like this before. Is it possible that they have messed up in some way and if so would this prevent my husband being charged

thanks
 
It is possible that the police have made a mistake with the case or mislaid the sample. However it is much more likely that they are simply awaiting the sample to be analysed by the forensic analyst, unfortunately this can take some considerable time depending on how busy they are. As the police have not formally bailed him to attend on a specific date the best thing he can do is await a summons from the Court, or any other contact from the police. If you are certain that you want an update on the matter then the police should be able to find your husbands case based upon his name and arrest date.
 
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