2nd offence drink driving conviction - mitigating circumstances

[Charlotte]

On 08/12/17 I was given a three year ban for driving whilst over the alcohol limit. I had been at work that day and had been given a bottle of wine as a thank you for my support to service users at work. I am a third year mental health nurse on the PGDip course. I was at home and had no intention of going out. I decided to drink the wine with lemonade and then fell asleep. I was woken up by a call from my son (25yrs old) who told me that he had heard from my daughter who has been missing and I had not seen in over two years. She has mental health issues for some years now and about six weeks ago I had found out that she had been taken into the 136 suite in Bristol. I rang them and they could not give me any information. I did find out that she was transferred to Cygnet hospital in Stevenage. I rang the hospital and asked them to give her my telephone number and tell her I loved her. However, when I rang back she had been discharged and I was given no further information. When my son rang me on the night in question I had just woken up and he told me that my daughter was in Salisbury and said she was cold, hungry and wanted my help. I immediately got in the car to go and see her, I do not know Salisbury that well and had the sat nav on which told me to turn right, I did and found myself in a pedestrianised walkway. There was nobody about as it was late so I parked the car safely and went to get a takeaway for my daughter before I met her. On returning to the car the police approached and I was breathalysed and was over the limit and consequently charged. This was a stressful time for me which impacted on my making a poor decision. My father has also recently had a stroke and two mini strokes, he has also got heart problems and my mother has just had an operation for cancer. I realise the seriousness of my offence and the ban I have been given may cost me a career I am passionate about and limit the support I can give to my parents. Is there anything I can do to reduce the driving ban I have received? I have been offered the drink/drive awareness course which when completed will mean that I can drive again in 2020. However, if I lose my place on my course I will also lose my accommodation, is there anything else I can do?

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

You are within the relevant timeframe to lodge an appeal against sentence to the Crown Court however, I would need to know more about the details of this offence and whether there are any previous convictions before advising about the viability of any appeal. The sentencing guidelines allow for a 3 year ban for this offence in two circumstances:

1. If you had a previous conviction for a relevant offence within the last 10 years (then a 3 year ban is the mandatory minimum and you would not be able to reduce that on appeal).
2. If your reading was in excess of 120µg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. This would mean that the penalty can range from 29 to 36 months and there may be merit in appealing.

If an appeal is viable, you need to be aware of the other incidental consequences of such an appeal. Appealing sentence means that every element of the sentence is open for reconsideration by the court and could even result in a harsher penalty being imposed in certain instances.

I would advise speaking with a specialist to obtain more specific advice before making a decision. If you do appeal, you can ask the court to consider the circumstances of the offence as well as the personal circumstances you have outlined to make an informed and balanced decision regarding penalty. You should contact a specialist on 0333 009 3827.