1yearon
New Member
Hi folks,
This website/forum has helped me recover from a few dark places before and during my ban, and now that I'm (almost!) out the other side, I reckoned I'd give something back and tell of my experience in the hope that it might help anyone else who's feeling uncertain. Particularly the DVLA medical, which I really struggled to gain any accurate information on.
How I got caught
Nothing but my own stupidity got my caught in my case. I had gotten a lift home after a Hogmanay party so was already getting ready for bed, when a friend of mine called begging for a lift home. Obviously being New Year taxis were nowhere to be seen and the weather was horrible, so I took pity and went to get them. I was about half a mile from making it back home when the police stopped me. Looking back, they were probably stopping everyone they saw with it being New Year, but that is no excuse for me. I blew 88mg. Ouch.
Court Ruling
Obviously I was mortified that I'd let myself get into this situation. I've never had trouble with the law and had a totally clean license, never knowingly drink-driven. With the laws in Scotland having recently changed the limit from 35mg to 22mg, I was also terrified they were going to throw the book at me.
The best advice I can give for the day at court is get a lawyer and suit up smart. If you can afford a lawyer/solicitor, they are definitely the best way to get as lenient a sentence as possible, and if you're looking smart and being represented, the judge knows you're taking everything seriously.
In my case, I got an initial 24 month driving ban due to how high my reading was. This got 1/3rd taken off (down to 16 months) for pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity, and a further quarter (down to 12 months) taken off for being offered (and completing) the drink drive rehab course, as well as a £500 fine.
Take the rehab course if you're offered it!!!! Yes it is expensive and yes you may think you won't learn anything, but it is genuinely interesting, and if anything it really does help you future prospects if your conviction comes up for interviews. And some insurance companies can take a lot off their price if you have completed the course. It's a no brainer if you have the resources.
DVLA Medical
As my 12 months came to a close, I got a letter from the DVLA telling me I had to go for a medical, as any reading above 87.5mg makes you a High Risk Offender. Personally, I was quite annoyed by this as I was only 0.5mg above the limit, but rules are rules.
The letter is REALLY flakey. It'll tell you nothing about what you need to do or prepare in order to pass the medical, so you need to do your own research. I really hope they make this clearer in the future.
I was almost caught out by this, but came onto the forum the day before my medical, only to see loads of stories about people saying they hadn't drunk for 6 weeks and still failed.
My medical was just after the Christmas/New Year period, so obviously lots of booze had been consumed over that time. So hearing these stories put the fear of God into me!
The best advice I can give for you in that regard is don't panic! The nurse who took my blood could tell that I was really worried and asked for my age (25), to which she immediately said "you'll be fine". No questions asked.
Obviously I can only speak for myself in this regard, and everything is dependant on age/sex/dependence on alcohol/medical history etc. but for someone around my age group in my situation, I can only say as long as you don't go wild with your drinking in the run up to the medical, you'll be absolutely fine.
Insurance
Fortunately I passed my medical despite my fears, and have got my license back. The only thing I need to sort now is insurance. I know some companies specialise in this sort of thing so if anyone reading this has any recommendations on what companies may be best for someone in my situation, I'd love to hear them!
Conclusion
I cant stress enough how I can only speak about my own conviction and experience, as I know every single one is different. I've been very lucky in that no-one got hurt when I drunk-drove, my work have not asked for any convictions, disclosures etc., and that I don't need a car to get to work. However, I would like to go into teaching at some point in the future, so I'm sure I'll be back on here trying to find advice on how best to tackle that with this on my record.
I hope this doesn't sound too preachy or useless to people, but for any younger driver out there who were as worried and scared about the future as I was when I got caught, I can only advise that there is another side that you will reach eventually. Everyone makes mistakes, some much bigger than others (guilty). But as long as you learn from them, you'll be a better person for it.
Essay over. Stay safe folks.
This website/forum has helped me recover from a few dark places before and during my ban, and now that I'm (almost!) out the other side, I reckoned I'd give something back and tell of my experience in the hope that it might help anyone else who's feeling uncertain. Particularly the DVLA medical, which I really struggled to gain any accurate information on.
How I got caught
Nothing but my own stupidity got my caught in my case. I had gotten a lift home after a Hogmanay party so was already getting ready for bed, when a friend of mine called begging for a lift home. Obviously being New Year taxis were nowhere to be seen and the weather was horrible, so I took pity and went to get them. I was about half a mile from making it back home when the police stopped me. Looking back, they were probably stopping everyone they saw with it being New Year, but that is no excuse for me. I blew 88mg. Ouch.
Court Ruling
Obviously I was mortified that I'd let myself get into this situation. I've never had trouble with the law and had a totally clean license, never knowingly drink-driven. With the laws in Scotland having recently changed the limit from 35mg to 22mg, I was also terrified they were going to throw the book at me.
The best advice I can give for the day at court is get a lawyer and suit up smart. If you can afford a lawyer/solicitor, they are definitely the best way to get as lenient a sentence as possible, and if you're looking smart and being represented, the judge knows you're taking everything seriously.
In my case, I got an initial 24 month driving ban due to how high my reading was. This got 1/3rd taken off (down to 16 months) for pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity, and a further quarter (down to 12 months) taken off for being offered (and completing) the drink drive rehab course, as well as a £500 fine.
Take the rehab course if you're offered it!!!! Yes it is expensive and yes you may think you won't learn anything, but it is genuinely interesting, and if anything it really does help you future prospects if your conviction comes up for interviews. And some insurance companies can take a lot off their price if you have completed the course. It's a no brainer if you have the resources.
DVLA Medical
As my 12 months came to a close, I got a letter from the DVLA telling me I had to go for a medical, as any reading above 87.5mg makes you a High Risk Offender. Personally, I was quite annoyed by this as I was only 0.5mg above the limit, but rules are rules.
The letter is REALLY flakey. It'll tell you nothing about what you need to do or prepare in order to pass the medical, so you need to do your own research. I really hope they make this clearer in the future.
I was almost caught out by this, but came onto the forum the day before my medical, only to see loads of stories about people saying they hadn't drunk for 6 weeks and still failed.
My medical was just after the Christmas/New Year period, so obviously lots of booze had been consumed over that time. So hearing these stories put the fear of God into me!
The best advice I can give for you in that regard is don't panic! The nurse who took my blood could tell that I was really worried and asked for my age (25), to which she immediately said "you'll be fine". No questions asked.
Obviously I can only speak for myself in this regard, and everything is dependant on age/sex/dependence on alcohol/medical history etc. but for someone around my age group in my situation, I can only say as long as you don't go wild with your drinking in the run up to the medical, you'll be absolutely fine.
Insurance
Fortunately I passed my medical despite my fears, and have got my license back. The only thing I need to sort now is insurance. I know some companies specialise in this sort of thing so if anyone reading this has any recommendations on what companies may be best for someone in my situation, I'd love to hear them!
Conclusion
I cant stress enough how I can only speak about my own conviction and experience, as I know every single one is different. I've been very lucky in that no-one got hurt when I drunk-drove, my work have not asked for any convictions, disclosures etc., and that I don't need a car to get to work. However, I would like to go into teaching at some point in the future, so I'm sure I'll be back on here trying to find advice on how best to tackle that with this on my record.
I hope this doesn't sound too preachy or useless to people, but for any younger driver out there who were as worried and scared about the future as I was when I got caught, I can only advise that there is another side that you will reach eventually. Everyone makes mistakes, some much bigger than others (guilty). But as long as you learn from them, you'll be a better person for it.
Essay over. Stay safe folks.
