Advice needed for Daughter charged with drink driving

[WOODY]

Any one been in a similar situation, please can you advise on my daughters position and if there is any scope for reducing the obligatory ban length.

She was driving at approx. 11 AM and had a collision with another car that was apparently going too fast but because of the location my daughter was technically at fault . There was not much damage done to the other parties vehicle and there were no injuries fortunately.
The officer who arrived at the scene breath tested them both and my daughter blew over the limit so was arrested and taken to the station . There she was re tested fairly quickly and blew a 40 result and was charged with Drink driving. The arresting officers seemed to think that she would not be charged but a more senior officer decided that she would be.
My daughter tells me that she felt totally normal that morning and had finished drinking at 11.30 PM the night before after drinking the equivalent of 5 or 6 double vodkas over the evening.

We understand that a 12 month ban is obligatory but are wondering if there are any realistic avenues for asking for a reduced length of ban as she has two young children and has a job that is quite dependant on her being able to drive.

She would not intentionally drive over the limit and is only a casual drinker anyway. She has no previous for drink or dangerous driving offenses.

Any advice is welcome, thank you

 

[Forum Moderator]

Any one been in a similar situation, please can you advise on my daughters position and if there is any scope for reducing the obligatory ban length.

She was driving at approx. 11 AM and had a collision with another car that was apparently going too fast but because of the location my daughter was technically at fault . There was not much damage done to the other parties vehicle and there were no injuries fortunately.
The officer who arrived at the scene breath tested them both and my daughter blew over the limit so was arrested and taken to the station . There she was re tested fairly quickly and blew a 40 result and was charged with Drink driving. The arresting officers seemed to think that she would not be charged but a more senior officer decided that she would be.
My daughter tells me that she felt totally normal that morning and had finished drinking at 11.30 PM the night before after drinking the equivalent of 5 or 6 double vodkas over the evening.

We understand that a 12 month ban is obligatory but are wondering if there are any realistic avenues for asking for a reduced length of ban as she has two young children and has a job that is quite dependant on her being able to drive.

She would not intentionally drive over the limit and is only a casual drinker anyway. She has no previous for drink or dangerous driving offenses.

Any advice is welcome, thank you

A 12 month disqualification is the mandatory minimum period that can be imposed when convicted of driving with excess alcohol. If this is your daughters first offence she is likely to be offered the chance to take the drink driving rehabilitation course which once completed can reduce the period of disqualification imposed by up to 25%.

The best your daughter can hope for upon conviction is the mandatory minimum disqualification of 12 months reduced by 3 months by completing the drink driving rehabilitation course, this would result in your daughter serving a 9 month period of disqualification.

 

[price1367]

The legal limit is 35 in breath, but policy dictates that prosecutions are not undertaken until the reading reaches 40 so she just tripped that.
10 minutes later might have seen a different result, but I think it is likely that your daughter had more than 5 or 6 doubles the night before. Depending on when she started drinking, the actual amount is likely to be at least 8 doubles, and maybe more.

 

[WOODY]

Thanks for the advice , it is appreciated.
I did wonder if she maybe had a bit more than 5 or 6 doubles ( this was an approx guess on her part ) - I have gathered from her Mum that she drank a 35 cl bottle of vodka with mixer over the course of the later evening ( after 7.30 ) after the kids had gone to bed.

Will it be advisable to have a solicitor to represent her at the hearing to help to avoid a longer ban than the 12 months and ask for the referral to the drink driving rehabilitation course?

 

[price1367]

It is for your daughter to decide, but as she is admitting drink driving the only advantage of a solicitor is to try to minimise the ban, as you say. If there was only minor damage and no injury then there is a fair chance that she will get the minimum 12 months anyway. The court will feel somewhat sympathetic because her being exactly on the minimum for prosecution, but their sympathy cannot extend to not banning her so I think they will 'settle' for 12.
She can explain that it was from the night before and she honestly thought that she was fine to drive, but now realises that she would benefit from some education on this. Then see if the magistrates offer the Drink Drive Rehabilitation Course. Most do, but occasionally they forget, so if it is not offered then, at the point when they fine her and tell her the length of the ban,she can ask BEFORE THE CASE HAS FINISHED if she could do a drink drive course to fill in the gaps in her knowledge. They would then be hard pressed to refuse.
She must ask at that point because once the case is finished it cannot be offered retrospectively. This would, if she completes the course, reduce her ban by 9 months.

 

[WOODY]

That is good advice, I will let her know. I spoke to her today and she is going to attend with a local solicitor ( cost of £300 + VAT probably not extortionate as lawyers go )Going on the Rehabilitation course will do her good anyway. She is not a regular drinker and this has been a big shock to her but at least no one was hurt.


I really appreciate you taking the time to give us advice, thank you

 

[ZZTopWereHere]

Hello,

I confirm that going to a DD course is especially useful to avoid "morning after" arrests like in the case of your daughter. My personal case was pretty standard as I had been stopped right after a pub dinner, but only when I joined this forum I've learned about the amount of cases where drivers are above the limit the morning after a party or even after drinking at home.

At the DD class I attended, 20/25% of attendees were "morning after" drink drivers and apparently it's a common percentage at DD courses. During the course they teach all the calculations needed to know when it's OK to drive after drinking, and by learning those details it's easy to understand how people can still be over the limit even after a long sleep.

Best regards,
Z