DD offence, here on behalf of my brother

[martinsmith]

Seeking advice on DD offence,

Circumstances to the best of my knowledge - My 21 year old brother went out clubbing yesterday evening. He arrived at his destination completely sober via his own car and knew he wouldn't be suitable to drive and so he left the car there and decided to collect it in the morning. Upon collecting the car he was pulled over in a car park by the police for having a broken brake light. Police Breathalyzed him and he blew twice the legal limit (not entirely sure what that is). He was taken to the police station and released shortly after (not sure if he blew in the official Breathalyzer at the station). His car wasn't seized and has been subsequently collected by a family member.

A court date has been given to him.

Can he apply for mitigation due to work and transportation of a disabled mother. He has a clean license, no previous convictions and has only been driving for around 3 months.

What is the likelihood of his license being taken away?
What kind of sentence can he expect?

 

[Forum Moderator]

Seeking advice on DD offence,

Circumstances to the best of my knowledge - My 21 year old brother went out clubbing yesterday evening. He arrived at his destination completely sober via his own car and knew he wouldn't be suitable to drive and so he left the car there and decided to collect it in the morning. Upon collecting the car he was pulled over in a car park by the police for having a broken brake light. Police Breathalyzed him and he blew twice the legal limit (not entirely sure what that is). He was taken to the police station and released shortly after (not sure if he blew in the official Breathalyzer at the station). His car wasn't seized and has been subsequently collected by a family member.

A court date has been given to him.

Can he apply for mitigation due to work and transportation of a disabled mother. He has a clean license, no previous convictions and has only been driving for around 3 months.

What is the likelihood of his license being taken away?
What kind of sentence can he expect?

The legal limit is 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath in England & Wales. Exactly twice the legal limit would be 70.

The sentence handed down is largely dependent on the level of alcohol in a persons system at the time of the offence and magistrates have guidelines they follow which can be viewed here.

As you can see if you click the link above a breath reading of between 60 and 89 attracts a driving disqualification of between 17 and 22 months along with a band C fine.

Yes your brother will have blew into the evidential (official) breathalyzer at the police station, if he didn't he would not have been charged and given a court date.

The likelihood of him loosing his driving licence upon conviction is 100% guaranteed. There is an automatic mandatory minimum disqualification of at least 12 months upon conviction of drink driving. While mitigation can be presented to the court which may affect the length of disqualification imposed, it will not prevent a disqualification from being imposed.

The exact level of alcohol in his system should be on the paperwork / breathalyzer print out. If he blew over 87.5 not only will he receive a driving disqualification and fine, he will also be classed as a high risk offender and will be required to take and pass a DVLA medical before his driving licence is re-issued once his disqualification has ended.

The majority of first time offenders are also usually offered the opportunity to take the drink driving rehabilitation course. Upon completing the course, the length of disqualification imposed can be reduced by up to 25%.

Let us know the outcome and the exact breath reading if possible.