Devastated

Convicted Driver Insurance

supernova48

Member
Hey everyone,

I never knew such a forum existed and never dreamt on being on one, but because of one stupid, shameful decision- here I am.

I was arrested for drink driving on Sunday morning around 3:30am and tested 90 on the roadside. I had been drinking at my friends house and stupidly decided to drive home- Something I have never done before and I'm always usually so careful not to drink when attending such things. I rarely drink in general, but never do when driving, well, only this one time! My plan was to stay at his or infact walk home as I live aprox a mile from his house. But I guess the temptation was too great when walking past my car.

I was pulled over because I was driving around 20mph in a 30. I was taken down to the station and commenced the usual proceedure, however the breathalyser machine there wouldn't give a reading after 4 attempts so I was offered and agreed to a blood sample.
I was booked into the station at aprox. 4am and released just before 9am after giving a reading of 41 roughly an hour earlier

Now I know I'm in limbo until my blood results come back but I'm incredibly anxious of what is going to happen to me. Obviously a ban is going to be in place, plus a fine/community service but what are the realistic chances of being sentenced to prison? I attended a speed awareness course in January this year which means I have 0 points on my license but will this be held against me?

I've sought advice from a specialist solicitor but he said I have to wait for the results. As far as I know, I wasn't made aware that I was able to take a sample for a private testing so the solicitor said that's a possible route we can take to get the case acquitted, but realistically I can't afford that kind of trial.

I have recently broken up from my girlfriend and life for me has been pretty tough over the last 2 years. I'm convinced I suffer with depression and infact brought it up with a doctor on Thursday, but she was only concerned about the original reason I was at the appointment and not the potential depression. I don't know if this will be taken into account. My employer said I may lose my job without my license, I will certainly have to take a pay cut due to being the primary driver in work (I travel all over the southwest in my job).

This is a devastating feeling as you all know, I've barely slept and not eaten. I've called in sick from work today because of lack of sleep, but I will drag myself tomorrow. Any advice anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

On a side note, my knowledge of the legal system is minimal at best. I literally have no idea what to do. Should I get someone to represent me? Do I get a solicitor appointed to me?

Thank you.
 
supernova48 said:
Hey everyone,

I never knew such a forum existed and never dreamt on being on one, but because of one stupid, shameful decision- here I am.

I was arrested for drink driving on Sunday morning around 3:30am and tested 90 on the roadside. I had been drinking at my friends house and stupidly decided to drive home- Something I have never done before and I'm always usually so careful not to drink when attending such things. I rarely drink in general, but never do when driving, well, only this one time! My plan was to stay at his or infact walk home as I live aprox a mile from his house. But I guess the temptation was too great when walking past my car.

I was pulled over because I was driving around 20mph in a 30. I was taken down to the station and commenced the usual proceedure, however the breathalyser machine there wouldn't give a reading after 4 attempts so I was offered and agreed to a blood sample.
I was booked into the station at aprox. 4am and released just before 9am after giving a reading of 41 roughly an hour earlier

Now I know I'm in limbo until my blood results come back but I'm incredibly anxious of what is going to happen to me. Obviously a ban is going to be in place, plus a fine/community service but what are the realistic chances of being sentenced to prison? I attended a speed awareness course in January this year which means I have 0 points on my license but will this be held against me?

I've sought advice from a specialist solicitor but he said I have to wait for the results. As far as I know, I wasn't made aware that I was able to take a sample for a private testing so the solicitor said that's a possible route we can take to get the case acquitted, but realistically I can't afford that kind of trial.

I have recently broken up from my girlfriend and life for me has been pretty tough over the last 2 years. I'm convinced I suffer with depression and infact brought it up with a doctor on Thursday, but she was only concerned about the original reason I was at the appointment and not the potential depression. I don't know if this will be taken into account. My employer said I may lose my job without my license, I will certainly have to take a pay cut due to being the primary driver in work (I travel all over the southwest in my job).

This is a devastating feeling as you all know, I've barely slept and not eaten. I've called in sick from work today because of lack of sleep, but I will drag myself tomorrow. Any advice anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

On a side note, my knowledge of the legal system is minimal at best. I literally have no idea what to do. Should I get someone to represent me? Do I get a solicitor appointed to me?

Thank you.
Click to expand...

https://www.drinkdriving.org/police_blood_urine_specimens.php

The suspect must agree to provide the blood sample. If the suspect refuses they will be given a final warning from the police officer.

"I warn you again that failure to provide a specimen will render you liable to prosecution. Do you now consent to provide a specimen of blood, which will be taken by a doctor (or health care professional)?" **

If the suspect refuses to provide a specimen of blood a second time they will be charged with failing to provide a specimen for analysis.

If the suspect agrees to provide a specimen of blood for analysis then a doctor (or health care professional) will draw two 8ml samples of blood from the suspect.

The suspect can choose one of the two samples of blood so that they are able have it privately and independently tested by an analytical chemist of their choice. The other sample will then be sent off to a police forensic laboratory in order to be analysed and for the BAC (blood alcohol content) to be determined. If a suspect does not request one of the samples of blood, both samples will be sent off to a police forensic laboratory, although only one sample will be analysed.

Hi would defo seek legal & health advice
If you are having difficulty coping ask the doctor for Propanalol and 1 week supply of sleeping pills good luck
 
Last edited:
The outcome is difficult to predict, except that you are going to be over.
There are several factors that will affect the end result but if the 41 reading is correct in breath (ie on the police station machine rather than a hand held one where the results can vary quite a bit) then you could expect a final reading in blood of 130-145. The problem with this prediction is that under 138 the guideline ban is 12-16 months. 138 or above attracts 17-22 months, and the possibility of a community penalty.
either way, you are NOT looking at custody though.
The police should offer you the opportunity to have one of the 2 samples that were sealed in your presence, and they have to record if you accept the offer or not on the MGDDB form that they complete at the time.
You can write to the police station you were detained at yourself to ask for a copy of your custody record, and also a copy of the video that relates to your time in detention. You do not need a solicitor to do this for you.
If you are going down the route of challenging the police procedure then you need a specialist solicitor with experience of dealing with such cases. Many general criminal solicitors do not have this experience. They are not cheap, £3,000 would be a starting point, but even if you succeed you would only get a bit of this back in costs. Solicitors typically charge £300+ per hour, but you can only claim costs back at the legal aid rate of about £95 per hour..... and it does have to be funded yourself, Legal Aid is not available for ordinary drink drive cases.
 
Last edited:
Thank you for your replies.

To be honest with you, I may well have been offered a sample for myself, with the shock of what was going on and obviously being drunk it may just be a case of not remembering. I feel as though I should accept the punishment, either way. I'm so incredibly embarrassed by it all. I don't want to talk to anyone about it out of shame. I'm even uncomfortable posting on this forum, anonymously, about my experience.

I think there may have been a misunderstanding- I gave a reading of 90 on the roadside and then the machine in the station wasn't registering so I was offered to take a blood test, which I agreed to do. I guess my question, which I understand is probably not really an answerable one but I'll ask anyway, is can I expect blood results to come back higher than a road side test? The reading I gave of 41 on the stations breathalyser was about 4 hours after my blood was taken so they could decide whether to release me or not.
 
I understood your story, my estimate of your reading was based on what you said. The legal limit is 35 on a breath machine but the roadside one is not reliable, they are battery operated and the results can vary quite a bit so don’t count too much on you blowing 90 at the roadside.
The legal limit in blood is 80. Your breath test at 8am of 41 is the equivalent of 93 in blood so a best guess for when you did your blood sample (guessed as 5am) comes to 130-145 in blood.
i see in your original post that you asked about a solicitor and if one was needed.
If you intend to plead guilty then you do not really need a solicitor. You can write down what you want to say and read it out, or hand it to the magistrates. There will be a duty solicitor at court that you can speak to, but if they are busy with other cases then they may not offer to go into court to speak for you. This is free, if you instruct your own solicitor then legal aid is not available.
 
Thank you, Price, your comments are greatly appreciated. I can see it was I who misunderstood your original post- I was very tired this morning reading it over just before work. Thanks for clearing it up.

I'm going to start to construct a letter for the judge while waiting for my results to come back.

I'm terrified incase I lose my job- I have already made one of my bosses aware and he said I won't lose my job, but it just makes things a little more difficult as I'm the primary driver, but the company owner is alot less forgiving. Would there be any need for the police to inform my employer? They haven't asked for details and I wasn't driving a company vehicle at the time.

Thanks
 
Te Police only contact an employer if it is a nurse or similar where there is an overseeing body who deal with issues relating to “fitness to practice”.
 
Okay, I work in construction, so obviously not medical or law, etc and I myself don't operate heavy machinery but they are around. Random drink/drug tests do happen on sites, I've never had one or even seen it. Do you think the police would be obliged to inform my employer?
 
No, they would not contact your employer in the circumstances that you have described.
 
Because I have been though, and am actually still going through this terrifying experience. Here is something I hope will help.
You are absolutely, definitely, not going to prison IF you have no other convictions, and you caused no damage to anyone or anything.
My evidential (police station calibrated breathalyser) was 124,and this was less than the roadside. 124 is over the “custodial” bracket.
Your 90 is nowhere near it.
You are definitely going to be banned for at least 2 years. You will get a chance to pay 200-odd quid to reduce this by 25%
You WILL get 100+ community payback hours. I got 200. Nobody will contact your employer. You might not get a fine apart from the court Fee and the Victim fee, which is about £180 total.
The probation system is not there to make your life as difficult as possible. If you put all your effort into completing your hours as quickly as you can, then you can do this. For me, whilst keeping my fulltime 9-6 job, it meant doing CS for around 3 months of weekends.
if you arse the CS up, by having excuses, or fake DRs appointments, then you will fail. I will have done all of my 200 in less than 3 months because I have used all spare time outside of my CS for payback. Be respectful to everyone, including the Police, the Prob Officer, and especially the supervisor of whatever your CP is.
 
Thank you, Donkey Kong. Thankfully there was no accident or anyone injured or worse! I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that was the case. I was pulled over for doing about 20mph in a 30 zone- Will this go against me?

I am nervous about what the possible community service sentence could be, but I guess the worrying is all part of the punishment! I've already cancelled future weekend engagements in my head because of what the CS will be. I hope I won't lose my job, driving is not part of the job description, but as primary driver, it does make things more difficult. My boss isn't the nicest of people. His son was actually arrested for drink driving (in a company van) and sentenced to prison for an unrelated offence, he kept his job and paid in full while inside.. The luxury of having your dad as your employer, I guess! I know I wouldn't have that fortune. Hopefully my supervisor doesn't feel forced to tell him.

Thanks again for your responses, I'll keep you updated when I have more details if you all wouldn't mind having a look at my posts when it happens.
 
I doubt that you will get a community penalty for this, if your blood reading comes back at around 140.
At 138 or above you can be considered for a community penalty but with no aggravating circumstances it is not likely to be give.
Donley Kong was basing his advice on a breath reading of 90, that you said was at the roadside. I have already pointed out that this is not what you will be prosecuted on and it is only a ‘rough and ready’ device that can be inaccurate.
 
Ah, thanks again, Price. I can see that you have helped alot of people on this forum, myself included. Just a quick question- As I was initially stopped for driving 20 in a 30, would this go against me? It would be harsh if it was as 30 is the limit, not a target! And it's not uncommon to drive particularly slow on that road anyway. But then, I don't have the right to feel hard done by!
 
Last edited:
It will not count against you that you were driving over cautiously! It will be mentioned as a part of the circumstances outlined to the court.
It would sound much worse if you were doing 50 in a 30.....
 
Okay I've just received a phone call from my arresting officer, my reading was 144. So your calculations were pretty spot on, Price. My life is pretty much going to be on hold now. Can I expect community service with that reading? I can't feel hard done by but I am devastated. Alot of shame at the moment. I'm just thankful there was no accident of any sort.
 
Correct, you will not have to do a medical as a High Risk Offender. That is only for a blood reading of 200 or more.
 
Okay, thanks. I know you can't answer fully, but in your experience do you know the likelihood of community service? The officer said not to panic as this is my first and only offence, but also recommend getting legal advice- is that advice given to everyone? I'm not planning on pleading not guilty.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Enter code DRINKDRIVING10 during checkout for 10% off
Top