Worried!!!!! high reading drink driving offence Scotland

Convicted Driver Insurance

dmhh15

New Member
Hi,

My mum made a very silly mistake and drove whilst heavily under the influence. She had only drove half a mile to stop off somewhere and crashed into a parked car! Her reading was 100 + but she can't remember the exact number but doing research it was probably between 100 - 115

She had to stay in the cell overnight and appear in court the next day! She was told she was automatically banned and to attend for sentancing in August. She is due to appear shortly.

She had to go to visit the social work dept to have a background report done (not sure if this is the normal routine)?. They asked her Everything you can imagine!! from childhood until now! Whilst she was there though, she was told a custodial sentance is a possibility at the most. She is now absolutely terrified as am I. There is no way she will cope with a prison sentence!! She said another possibility is community service and or a tag as well as a fine and ban!

She admitted she done wrong and is extremely sorry and disgusted at what she has done. She has admitted she has a drink problem and referred herself to a alcohol counsellor soon after being charged! She has a full clean driving license since she was 17, she is now 60!! Never had bother with the law, never been to court or anything like that! She is on medication for depression and a minor illness. She has told the social worker she is more than happy to have community service.

She doesn't work as she is retired but her and my dad are both home owners and my dad has a well paid job so he would help with any fine imposed!

Because of the high reading and the crashing a parked car she is now got it in her head she is going to prison! She is a very small timid lady with as I said health problems.

Please help if you have been in this situation!

Thanks
 
Hi,

My mum made a very silly mistake and drove whilst heavily under the influence. She had only drove half a mile to stop off somewhere and crashed into a parked car! Her reading was 100 + but she can't remember the exact number but doing research it was probably between 100 - 115

She had to stay in the cell overnight and appear in court the next day! She was told she was automatically banned and to attend for sentancing in August. She is due to appear shortly.

She had to go to visit the social work dept to have a background report done (not sure if this is the normal routine)?. They asked her Everything you can imagine!! from childhood until now! Whilst she was there though, she was told a custodial sentance is a possibility at the most. She is now absolutely terrified as am I. There is no way she will cope with a prison sentence!! She said another possibility is community service and or a tag as well as a fine and ban!

Your mother will have been to see a social worker for a pre-sentence report, this is normal routine where a custodial sentence is a possibility. It is basically a report that is compiled to assist the court in helping them to determine the most suitable method of dealing with an offender. Did the social worker not tell your mother what sentence would be recommended by him/her to the court?

She admitted she done wrong and is extremely sorry and disgusted at what she has done. She has admitted she has a drink problem and referred herself to a alcohol counsellor soon after being charged! She has a full clean driving license since she was 17, she is now 60!! Never had bother with the law, never been to court or anything like that! She is on medication for depression and a minor illness. She has told the social worker she is more than happy to have community service.

She doesn't work as she is retired but her and my dad are both home owners and my dad has a well paid job so he would help with any fine imposed!

Because of the high reading and the crashing a parked car she is now got it in her head she is going to prison! She is a very small timid lady with as I said health problems.

Please help if you have been in this situation!

Thanks

As you stated earlier in your post, your mother was told that a custodial sentence was a possibility in the worst case scenario. I think it is more likely that an elderly woman who has never been in trouble with the police before would receive a community order such as electronic tag, unpaid work etc.

Let us know how your mother gets on at court as it may help others who find themselves in a similar situation at some point in the future.
 
I'm not sure if she did or not she asked my mum if she would be prepared for community service! She said other options could be a tag too. Even if she does get a sentence I've seen elsewhere it can be suspended?

Really not sure what to expect as none of us have had trouble with the law!
 
I'm not sure if she did or not she asked my mum if she would be prepared for community service! She said other options could be a tag too. Even if she does get a sentence I've seen elsewhere it can be suspended?

Really not sure what to expect as none of us have had trouble with the law!

Yes it is also possible for courts to hand out a suspended prison sentence, however by the social workers question regarding community service it is likely they will consider some kind of community order as an alternative to a prison sentence.
 
Even though its in the highest bracket?? Do they consider a 60,yo woman for community service?, what kind of things does it involve?
 
Even though its in the highest bracket?? Do they consider a 60,yo woman for community service?, what kind of things does it involve?

They could do yes, depending on if your mother is fit and capable of carrying out unpaid work. I think you mentioned in another post she would have difficulty lifting heavy objects? If this was the case this would make her unsuitable for any unpaid work that involved lifting heavy objects, but this may not necessarily mean that she would be incapable for all types of work.

An unpaid work community order could involve various tasks which will vary from area to area as to what placements they have available. In my area they have a van which takes people to various locations as a group and they carry out work such litter picking, painting, gardening and allsorts of other work that needs doing, it usually consists of psychically fit people who are capable of performing a variety of tasks.

However, they also provide work placements at local charities and charity shops such as age concern and the british heart foundation. These are unpaid work placements that individuals are given and they work alongside the usual staff and voluntary workers carrying out various tasks such as sorting through clothes and other items given to the charity or tagging clothes and other items before they are placed in the shop for sale. Work which isn't psychically demanding, this would maybe be a more suitable work placement for your mother.

A community order does not necessarily mean unpaid work, it could consist of wearing an electronic tag, a supervision order or taking a course such as the drink impaired drivers programme.

You can read more about community orders here.
 
Re: Update!!.... Worried!!!!! high reading drink driving offence Scotland

For info my mum got 27 month ban! 12 month payback order and 150 hours community service! He did say she was very lucky and that if she had previous offences she would be going to jail!


Hi,

My mum made a very silly mistake and drove whilst heavily under the influence. She had only drove half a mile to stop off somewhere and crashed into a parked car! Her reading was 100 + but she can't remember the exact number but doing research it was probably between 100 - 115

She had to stay in the cell overnight and appear in court the next day! She was told she was automatically banned and to attend for sentancing in August. She is due to appear shortly.

She had to go to visit the social work dept to have a background report done (not sure if this is the normal routine)?. They asked her Everything you can imagine!! from childhood until now! Whilst she was there though, she was told a custodial sentance is a possibility at the most. She is now absolutely terrified as am I. There is no way she will cope with a prison sentence!! She said another possibility is community service and or a tag as well as a fine and ban!

She admitted she done wrong and is extremely sorry and disgusted at what she has done. She has admitted she has a drink problem and referred herself to a alcohol counsellor soon after being charged! She has a full clean driving license since she was 17, she is now 60!! Never had bother with the law, never been to court or anything like that! She is on medication for depression and a minor illness. She has told the social worker she is more than happy to have community service.

She doesn't work as she is retired but her and my dad are both home owners and my dad has a well paid job so he would help with any fine imposed!

Because of the high reading and the crashing a parked car she is now got it in her head she is going to prison! She is a very small timid lady with as I said health problems.

Please help if you have been in this situation!

Thanks
 
Hi there, while I can't give any solid advice at the moment. Tomorrow my case will be heard in court. I too am in Scotland and with a reading in the 80's it's very un-nerving of what the possible outcome is going to be. Unfortunately all the information that is currently online just now is in relation to English courts and not up to date with the new lower Scottish thresholds. Taking this into account, I'm bracing myself for the ban a level above what I've been reading to adjust it for Scotland. I can let you know more as and when I know the outcome tomorrow...
 
Hi there, while I can't give any solid advice at the moment. Tomorrow my case will be heard in court. I too am in Scotland and with a reading in the 80's it's very un-nerving of what the possible outcome is going to be. Unfortunately all the information that is currently online just now is in relation to English courts and not up to date with the new lower Scottish thresholds. Taking this into account, I'm bracing myself for the ban a level above what I've been reading to adjust it for Scotland. I can let you know more as and when I know the outcome tomorrow...

Unfortunately there is currently, no sentencing guidelines are available for Scotland, this is why there is no information available.

Unlike England and Wales, where magistrates are issued with sentencing guidelines, there is currently no sentencing guidelines available for Scotland, this is why all sentencing guideline information relates to England and Wales only.

However, a date has been announced for the establishment of the new Scottish Sentencing Council (SSC). The SSC will be responsible for producing sentencing guidelines in Scotland, you can read more about this here.
 
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