Caught on Sunday Morning. First Time Offence

[DwayneC]

Description of Offence:
I went to celebrate a friend's birthday so therefore had parked outside his place as it was free parking over the weekend. I slept as I felt tired while a few others continued to drink and celebrate. At about 3am a friend asked me to go drop him off close by as he did not have anywhere to sleep in the apartment and me feeling sorry for him and thinking my sleep had sobered me up I took him. I drove for less than half a mile and I was stopped. I was told I was driving very slow, 20mph in a 30mph zone. I was told the car was slightly swerving side to side. They flashed the lights right next to a bus lane and I knew there were cameras on that lane so I drove a few meters and stopped. They breath tested and it was 93 micrograms. They then place me under arrest and I was taken to the station for the second test.

Breath Alcohol Test Reading:
Breath Specimen 1: 91 microgrammes. Breath Specimen 2: 93 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

Mitigating Factors:
At work I was recently told we had lost the contract and we have till the end of June till our employment ends. That has been stressing me since I heard of it. I have to take my mother to work as she is quite old and unwell, she relies on me to get her to and from work as much as I can as she does not drive. I need the car to get me to and from work as the work shift patterns limit the use of public transport. On the morning I had only driven a short distance, less than half a mile and I had slept prior to driving, waking up feeling and thinking I was sobering up. It is the first time I had ever done such a thing and I fully regret having made such a mistake. I will be unable to earn any income without the use of a car as a lot of jobs require a vehicle as they work on a shift based pattern and I will not be able to assist my mother and support her. It is my first ever time being stopped by police and my first ever offence. I have held my clean driving license for 6 years with no points.

Aggravating Factors:
I was fully co-operative throughout.

Drink Driving Rehabilitation Course Offered?:
i would definitely take it as it would reduce the ban duration.

Is it possible to get at least a 12 month ban with possibility of it being reduced to 9 months through the course? I am prepared to fully co-operate and anything more than 12 months will be way too difficult. Also I was not born in the UK and have been given a Section 6(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 with possibility of deportation? I was granted indefinite leave to remain n 2013.
Any further advice?

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

To clarify, your reading was more than twice the legal limit (35 micrograms) and as such the Court will not entertain the idea of imposing the minimum 12 month disqualification.

For a reading of 91 in breath the Magistrates sentencing guidelines advise the imposition of a 23-28 month disqualification and a community order. Your reading is towards the bottom end of this bracket so it may be possible to convince the Court to impose a fine rather than a community order. As this is your first offence the Court are likely to offer you the opportunity to attend the drink drive rehabilitation course which will reduce the length of your disqualification by up to 25% upon completion.

You can certainly present mitigation to the Court to try an minimise the severity of the sentence that is imposed.

I'm afraid that I cannot provide any information about a potential deportation issue, I advise contacting someone who specialises in immigration law to discuss this.

 

[DwayneC]

Thank you for the response.

A 23-28 month disqualification is quite lengthy. Would mitigation not be considered a lot due to the high reading?
Would having someone to represent me and taking on the rehabilitation course help decrease the ban?
In terms of a community order is there any way of avoiding it i.e through paying a larger fine?

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

I'm afraid that the sentencing guidelines are primarily based upon your alcohol reading at the time of the offence as this indicates how impaired you were at the time of driving. I would anticipate that the Court will sentence you at the lower end of the scale due to your reading, you would then have up to a 25% reduction for completing the Course which would leave you in the region of a 17-18 month disqualification.

I would not advise offering to pay a larger fine as this may be misconstrued by the Court as an attempt to pay your way out of the problem. Focusing on your mitigation and then asking if they are willing to impose a fine rather than a community order would be the better option if you are keen to avoid this aspect of the sentence.