First Drink Drive Conviction

Convicted Driver Insurance

SM Renner

New Member
Hi,

Made a big mistake last friday and was breathalised and found to have a breath alcohol level of 57.
Never had a criminal conviction before so was wondering what sort of fine / ban I could expect.
I have a friend who is a solicitor who will be representing me in court who thinks between 1 and 2 thousand pound fine and 12 months ban possibly reduced to 10 months
if a drink-drive awareness course is offered. Would you concur?

I completely cooperated with the police and there was no one else in the car. I was stopped at traffic lights behind a police car when I was breathalised.
after a couple of hours at the local police station I was allowed to drive home which is apparently unusual?

Kr
Ian
 
For a first offence with a reading of 57 in breath the Magistrates sentencing guidelines advise the imposition of a 12-16 month disqualification and a Band C fine. The drink drive awareness course would normally be offered which would reduce the length of disqualification by up to 25% upon completion. Therefore the lowest sentence available to the Court would be 12 months reduced to 9 after the course. Your reading is however at the top end of this bracket so it is by no means a certainty that the Court will sentence you at the lowest end of the range.

The fine itself is based upon your own financial circumstances, if your friend has seen your financial circumstances and made this assessment then I would presume that it is accurate. The general guidance is that it will be 125 - 175% of your relevant weekly income.

The police will release you when they feel that you would be under the limit, a couple of hours is certainly on the lower side of this but it is not unheard of.
 
For a first offence with a reading of 57 in breath the Magistrates sentencing guidelines advise the imposition of a 12-16 month disqualification and a Band C fine. The drink drive awareness course would normally be offered which would reduce the length of disqualification by up to 25% upon completion. Therefore the lowest sentence available to the Court would be 12 months reduced to 9 after the course. Your reading is however at the top end of this bracket so it is by no means a certainty that the Court will sentence you at the lowest end of the range.

The fine itself is based upon your own financial circumstances, if your friend has seen your financial circumstances and made this assessment then I would presume that it is accurate. The general guidance is that it will be 125 - 175% of your relevant weekly income.

The police will release you when they feel that you would be under the limit, a couple of hours is certainly on the lower side of this but it is not unheard of.

Many thanks for your reply. How significant are mitigating factors in the court deciding sentence? In my own case as the only person involved, no injury or accident, first offence, short distance driven, full cooperation with police and the lower bracket of breath. Or is it purely on the level of breath alcohol?
Also with the fine that will be imposed must it be paid in full upfront or can you pay over for example several months?
 
Mitigating factors can certainly help to reduce the severity of the sentence imposed by the Court, although these do not just have to be focused on the circumstances of the offence. You can also demonstrate to the Court what kind of impact the sentence itself will have on you or your family, for example if a disqualification would cause difficulties with your employment.

The Court are normally quite amenable to the fine being paid over several weeks/months if your financial situation means that you would struggle to pay it immediately. This is something that you can ask the Court when they impose the sentence.
 
Mitigating factors can certainly help to reduce the severity of the sentence imposed by the Court, although these do not just have to be focused on the circumstances of the offence. You can also demonstrate to the Court what kind of impact the sentence itself will have on you or your family, for example if a disqualification would cause difficulties with your employment.

The Court are normally quite amenable to the fine being paid over several weeks/months if your financial situation means that you would struggle to pay it immediately. This is something that you can ask the Court when they impose the sentence.



Many thanks for your advice. I have been sentenced to a 9 month ban and a moderate fine so probably the minimum available.
Just wanted to clarify if a driving ban also applies to moving a vehicle within the bounds of my own property i.e rolling the car back and forth on the driveway to prevent the tyres deteriorating by sitting in one place for an extended time.
 
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