Regret and remorse

Convicted Driver Insurance

Roxy

New Member
Hi, I have come to this community for some support and help, even though I may not deserve it, I cannot find it elsewhere and am desperate.
The situation: I was arrested on suspicion of drink driving when I pulled up at a garage to be sick. I was sick because I had drunk a pint of beer on an empty stomach washed down with 2 30/500 co-codomols. I had just been on a long bike ride earlier that day in the hot sun and was begged to go for a drink even though I don't really drink and it was only 6pm. I felt pressured as she had done me some favours that day (doing 3 loads of washing for me) and I gave it to peer pressure. I then got in my car and drove to the garage and was then sick on the forecourt, the staff from the petrol station called the police and I was detained in a cell for over 20 hours while they gathered evidence that i was indeed driving. To put it mildly my life will now be in shambles, as I am sure has been said over and over again on this forum. I blew 70 and later found out i was given another drink but it was replaced with the one I was drinking and that is why I was over the limit. Hand on heart I didn't know about it. I am a student nurse, single parent of 3 and I live in the middle of nowhere, no bus route, no school bus route and no sidewalk to walk on. I have spent the last week feeling sick about what has happened, not eating or sleeping or attending my degree and my children and family have all had to suffer the consequences of this. My main questions are:
1. As I am half way thru my degree should I tell the uni or would it be better not to as I have no reason for it to come out until I apply for a job.
2.I can't afford a solicitor however will it be good enough if I represent myself in court
3.If I do represent myself I am hesitant to read anything out loud that could catch the ears of the press so i would rather submit a letter to be read privately by the magistrates, is this a possibility?
4.Should I save myself the embarrassment of maybe not being able to get my PIN at the end of my degree and just quit now before anyone finds out or I have to tell anyone and do something else with my life . I have options I am also a qualified PT and an English teacher.

Thank you in advance for any and all help it is much appreciated.

Roxy
 
I take it from reading your sad tale that you are a male. A reading of 70 in your breath is about 10 units, so allowing for some to have gone out of your system that is more than 2 pints of beer that you must have drunk, more like 4 - 5

Now your questions:
1. I think you will have to tell the university. What will happen if you don't and are sent on a placement that requires a fresh DBS check? It will then come out what has happened and it will not look good on you. The Uni know that you drive, what will you do if you are given a placement that you can't get to by public transport if you have not said about the ban?

2. You can represent yourself in court, or you can speak with the 'duty solicitor' when you arrive to see if he / she can give you some advice and (maybe) represent you in court. This is free, but their availability and them going into court with you is dependent on what other cases are on that day. They will give priority to cases where there is a possibility of prison. In your case, this is not an option!

3. You can submit a letter to the court. The magistrates will usually read this themselves but I have been to courts where the legal advisor reads the letter out to the magistrates. I suggest you either visit your local court before your court date to see what procedure your court follows, or failing that, ask the duty solicitor on the day. If you can't find out in advance which way he court deals with the letter from a defendant then you could do 2, one with less 'sensitive' information in that you can hand to the legal advisor if the duty solicitor indicates that it is likely to be read out loud.

4. Don't quit now after putting so much effort in to getting this far! You are liable to face the same questions about your conviction if you go back to teaching as if you (hopefully) continue with your degree and qualify as a nurse. If this is your only conviction in your life, then it will show up on a DBS check for 11 years from the date of your conviction. If you have, or get, a conviction for any other recordable offence then both will show up for life.
 
Hi,
Thanks for your reply, I appreciate the time you took to answer my questions. I am a female, 5.1 and weigh 50 kg. I definitely did not drink 4-5 pints, I think I would be dead. As I said I am not a drinker. It turns out that my friend did buy me another drink and replaced my beer with it, which is why I was over the limit, however like I said I was not drunk just ill.

I have decided to hire a local solicitor, local as in the fact he is close to the court so that keeps costs down - still £250 but I am desperately praying that this will be money well spent and reduce the ban as much as is possible. I have also written a letter to the court, but you are right, I don't want it read out. It will make the paper as anything to do with nurses do these days.

As far as the uni goes, i am taking advise from my solicitor as to what to do. I think if I had to tell them then I would rather not do the degree, it's too shameful and humiliating and like I said I have other options in life for work.

My main concerns right now are; getting to the court in one piece and sleeping and eating in the next 10 days. How to get around on public transport as I live rurally and how to get my kids to school while still keeping some shred of respect as they are teenagers and we all know how they like to judge, and to be fair in my position, rightly so.

Any further comments or tips would be a life saver x
 
Speak with you GP if your in anyway not coping ie sleep or anxiety' if your not sleeping with stress your cortisol levels will rocket and make matters worse, propanalol is non addictive and can be taken when required/sleeping pills can be a saviour but must be restricted" again talk with your GP* also some counselling might help

Keep your head held high during public trips you made a mistake and unlikely to ever put yourself in a situation like that again" in the unlikely event your challenged directly by a member the public then think of something simple to repeat and defuse the momment.
Your kids will be fine x but ask them if they have any concers with school* If there is the slightest bit of intolerance @ school get yer arse right on that bus and demand the school adress it fast!
Good luck remember chin up#
 
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