Some Help please.

Convicted Driver Insurance

Crimbotoy

New Member
I was involved in an incident on 24th July in which my car left the road and ended up in some gorse bushes beside a golf course on its roof. I swerved to avoid a baby rabbit and managed to also avoid a stone face and in turn went through a fence and the car slid down an embankment and ended up on its roof. I was knocked out and have no recollection after that for a good hour or so. I had a bad gash on my temple and a cut arm as my right side smashed the drivers window. I have subsequently left the scene, which I do not recall, and made my way home, with my friend who was in the car with me. He had no injuries.

The short version is that the police were obviously looking for me and they manged to call me from my house, I was in my friends house next door, and I came through to speak to them. Told them my story and I was breathalyzed. I blew 64! I was genuinely shocked at this as I had been drinking the night before until 5 am on straight vodka, but I felt okay as the incident had happened at around 5 pm. It was about 7 pm when the police met up with me.

I was taken to police station with my friend. Due to head injury i began to be sick and it was decided to take me to hospital as there was some blood in my vomit. I had not been booked i at this point as I was in the process of doing so prior to being sick. Taken to hospital and kept in until about 1 am I was charged prior to leaving hospital with Drink driving, leaving the scene and careless/dangerous driving, yet to be decided. I submitted a blood test at the hospital, I believe this was taken around 10 to half past 10.

I was then taken back to police station where I blew 21. It was noted that I had not yet been booked in, so they had to book me in and release me. I have not had any results back from the blood test and this is nearly 13 weeks ago. I would like to know if this is common place or the subject of a back log etc. I appreciate you are unable to give me a definitive answer, but I would appreciate it if you could give an answer based on your experience. I haven't yet received a citation either. I am just curious as I was told 3 weeks for results.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi John

Thank you for your post.

The forensic departments are under a lot of pressure and therefore it can often take a few months for the results of an analysis to be sent back to the Crown. The suggestion that the turnaround would be in the region of 3 weeks was a little optimistic.

I cannot predict how matters will proceed from this point on beyond advising that you need to await the service of the court citation. I can only assess the magnitude (or otherwise) of your situation until such time as I know the precise charges which the Crown propose to prosecute.
 
Hi John

Thank you for your post.

The forensic departments are under a lot of pressure and therefore it can often take a few months for the results of an analysis to be sent back to the Crown. The suggestion that the turnaround would be in the region of 3 weeks was a little optimistic.

I cannot predict how matters will proceed from this point on beyond advising that you need to await the service of the court citation. I can only assess the magnitude (or otherwise) of your situation until such time as I know the precise charges which the Crown propose to prosecute.


Thank you for your reply.

I am aware that you are unable to assist due to the fact you have no clue what my charges are. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question. I have spoken to people who have had blood taken before and nobody has been longer than 12 weeks in awaiting the results. When I spoke to a couple of solicitors after the incident they all indicated that 6 weeks would be a maximum. I did wonder if the forensic departments were busy and this was the cause of the delay. A few months does seem extremely long given a hospital blood test is back in seven days.

Thanks
 
Most people seem to come on looking for advice and then disappear without letting people know how they got on, so i thought I should come back and tell people my outcome.

I went down the route of an expensive lawyer, an expert in road traffic matters, apparently! Sadly, for me at least, this was a lesson learned and not a mistake I will make again, as it was a very costly mistake, £2400 to be precise. I was promised the world, yet I should have known from the start that this outfit are charlatans. Forgetting to attend court, resulting in a warrant being issued for me! Not returning phone calls and failing grasp the facts of the case. It got so bad that I had to drive through to Glasgow to speak to them in person and was again told my case was good. Two days before my trial they switched solicitors on me and gave me a guy that I had never even spoken too. I was told that I would have the man I had been dealing with all along, clearly this was a lie.

I was called the day before by my new solicitor telling me it was best to accept the plea bargain as my case wasn't strong enough and carried a lot of risk. £2400 to find out what a solicitor charging £600 had told me at the start. I was fed a lie by people who are only after your money, so be aware of these people.

In the end I pleaded guilty to Drink driving and careless driving. I was originally charged with Dangerous driving, drink driving and leaving the scene. My first solicitor told me he would get me the same deal, but I felt, after talking to the so called expert that there was a real chance of beating my case, how wrong I was.

The new solicitor made a complete mess of my case and it was only the good nature of the judge that saved me from a worse fate. The guy clearly hadn't read the notes of the case correctly and had no real understanding of how the events unfolded, thus sounding like a fool as he attempted to convince the judge. The judge gave me a real dressing down and banned me for 16 months reduced to 12 if I complete the drivers rehabilitation course and a £900 fine.

I would caution anyone from looking for so called road traffic experts who are aware of your concern and attempt to convince you that they will solve your problem for a considerable cost, they wont! Good luck to anyone who finds themselves in this situation.
 
John,

Sadly, not all experts are cut from the same cloth. It is always advisable in these situations if you feel you have been wronged to lodge an official complaint firstly with your solicitor and then, if dissatisfied with their response, the SLCC.

There are also avenues such as Google+ reviews that allow you to comment on the service you received.
 
John,

Sadly, not all experts are cut from the same cloth. It is always advisable in these situations if you feel you have been wronged to lodge an official complaint firstly with your solicitor and then, if dissatisfied with their response, the SLCC.

There are also avenues such as Google+ reviews that allow you to comment on the service you received.

In retrospect Michael, I should have gone with yourselves.
 
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