Advice needed please - careless driving, refusing to provide specimen and resisting

Convicted Driver Insurance

sooty

New Member
Advice urgently needed please.

I am a carer for my elderly mother, I went to see her on her birthday, and had a large glass of wine with her, I had previously had one at home. I felt ok but in retrospect should not have driven. It is 1.5 miles, at 1am in morning, no traffic on the road at all, around the corner from my house I was stopped by police. I admitted I had drunk wine but refused a breathtest which annoyed the arresting officer, he wasquite threatening "if you don't give a test, I will lock you up". (Since i've never been in trouble at all, ever, it was all a bit surreal and I thought he wouldn't.)

He then said I was "resisting arrest", he cut my wrists badly with the handcuffs and "tried to bite him". Basically I didn't touch him though. His statement also said "she repeatedly said she was deaf but could hear me perfectly well". Which I couldn't, I had only one hearing aid in my ear. They said they would phone someone for me but didn't, so no-one knew where I was. I am totally unaware of what the procedure is/what my rights were and didn't realise if I refused a breathtest it would be so much worse for me.

The solicitor I saw at court was very nice and said they had offered if I plead guilty to resisting arrest/assaulting a police officer they would drop the driving charges. I refused this and said I would plead guilty to the driving charges (refusing breathtest at station and careless driving) but nothing else because it wasn't correct. The case has been continued without plea and the solicitor advised they would accept the guilty to driving offences and not pursue the other charge/s.

I had no idea what any of this would mean for me, i've just found out that both the driving offences will mean automatic ban, when I need my car to care for my mum.

The solicitor has said there is a very long shot they may look at the new European Legislation of "right to a fair trial/representation at station", but i'm not sure they will pursue that in my case or not.

This seems to have escalated out of control, by a stupid mistake (as I'm sure everyone says). I am on medication as well, but my psychiatrist has said it was very difficult to prove the drug/alcohol mixture would have caused careless driving, so it seems that isn't an avenue open to me.

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.
 
Only failure to provide a specimen of breath carries an automatic ban. Driving without due care and attention/ careles driving carries a discretionary ban, not an automatic one, or 3 to 9 penalty points.

I cannot comment on the due care without more information. You clearly deny resisting arrest and assaulting the police officer and should plead not guilty to those charges. Given the experience of the officer and your lack of it you should have a solicitor cross examine the officer on your behalf at trial. In my experience/opinion it would be a really bad idea for you to attempt to do this yourself as you will inevitably come across as confrontational and capable of the sort of aggression that the officer is accusing you of.

In relation to the Failure to provide a specimen of breath, your disability could be relevant. You can only be convicted if the prosecution can prove you understood not only the request but the consequences of refusal. At the police station you may also have been entitled to a signer or lip speaker to ensure you understood your rights and consequences of your actions. There is clear case law in relation to these issues and I have successfully represented a number of clients who are hard of hearing in relation to accusations of failing to provide samples where there rights have been breached. We have access to excellent expert witnesses who could help with your case.

I would be very interested in discussing your case with you in more detail. Please feel free to call us on 08450020736 for further telephone advice.
 
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