Dont know what to do -failing to provide

Convicted Driver Insurance

drink driver

New Member
I did a breath test at the scene that was 72 but at the station i failed to provide 2 specimens of breath - i was given 3 chances. i was given a court hearing of last week to which i went and spoke to a solicitor there who said to get it adjourned and review the cctv footage of me giving samples and the custody record. i saw my solicitor last night and we watched the video which showed me trying to give 3 breath tests. you could see in the video that i struggling to catch my breath after the first test and i kept asking the officer what i needed to do and he explained the same to me. after the 2nd attempt i was still struggling at all times after the first test i was holding my chest and saying i'm struggling to get my breath back. the officer didnt say anything to this. i said to him that it was really difficult to do and he agreed and said he knew it was difficult. he only warned me at beginning of the tests that i would be charged if i failed to provide. after the 2nd attempt i said to him i need to get my breath back before i do it again but he rushed me and the said the machine was on a timer so i needed to do it so i tried again but failed still holding my chest. i asked him if i could have another go and he said yes then the machine made a noise and he said no the machine has timed out so i cant have another chance. i asked him what happens now he said hold on a minute and looked at the paper work. i again asked what happens now but he didnt say anything for ages then said i was being charged for failing to provide. i was asked before the i took the test if i had any medical conditions which i said no to as i'm not aware of any. my solicitor has said that i have a strong case and recommended that i plead not guilty at the hearing next week but i am unsure if i really do have a strong enough case or not. he said it is at the officers discretion to allow as many tries at the test as they want so he should have given me more. also in his statement he said he heard me deliberatly blow into the machine but there is no evidence of this on the tape and he doesnt mention it at all. the solicitor said that the officer could see that i was struggling to catch my breath to do the test and forced me to do it when i wasnt ready, he rushed me to do it. the solicitor said he should have offered a blood or urine sample at the point if he thought that i could have had a medical condition as by law even if you say you dont have any medical conditions but the officer thinks that you may have problems then should be offered other ways. also the tape shows that i was co-operative and certainly didnt refuse the test in fact asked if i could do it again. i know i'm blabbering on but i really dont know what to do either plead guilty and get a criminal record, fine, and ban or plead not guilty and possibly get completely off or end up with a bigger fine and longer ban. do you think i've got a strong case for pleading not guilty??? plus this is my first offence, i have never been in trouble before i've never even had a speeding ticket.
 
drink driver said:
I did a breath test at the scene that was 72 but at the station i failed to provide 2 specimens of breath - i was given 3 chances. i was given a court hearing of last week to which i went and spoke to a solicitor there who said to get it adjourned and review the cctv footage of me giving samples and the custody record. i saw my solicitor last night and we watched the video which showed me trying to give 3 breath tests. you could see in the video that i struggling to catch my breath after the first test and i kept asking the officer what i needed to do and he explained the same to me. after the 2nd attempt i was still struggling at all times after the first test i was holding my chest and saying i'm struggling to get my breath back. the officer didnt say anything to this. i said to him that it was really difficult to do and he agreed and said he knew it was difficult. he only warned me at beginning of the tests that i would be charged if i failed to provide. after the 2nd attempt i said to him i need to get my breath back before i do it again but he rushed me and the said the machine was on a timer so i needed to do it so i tried again but failed still holding my chest. i asked him if i could have another go and he said yes then the machine made a noise and he said no the machine has timed out so i cant have another chance. i asked him what happens now he said hold on a minute and looked at the paper work. i again asked what happens now but he didnt say anything for ages then said i was being charged for failing to provide. i was asked before the i took the test if i had any medical conditions which i said no to as i'm not aware of any. my solicitor has said that i have a strong case and recommended that i plead not guilty at the hearing next week but i am unsure if i really do have a strong enough case or not. he said it is at the officers discretion to allow as many tries at the test as they want so he should have given me more. also in his statement he said he heard me deliberatly blow into the machine but there is no evidence of this on the tape and he doesnt mention it at all. the solicitor said that the officer could see that i was struggling to catch my breath to do the test and forced me to do it when i wasnt ready, he rushed me to do it. the solicitor said he should have offered a blood or urine sample at the point if he thought that i could have had a medical condition as by law even if you say you dont have any medical conditions but the officer thinks that you may have problems then should be offered other ways. also the tape shows that i was co-operative and certainly didnt refuse the test in fact asked if i could do it again. i know i'm blabbering on but i really dont know what to do either plead guilty and get a criminal record, fine, and ban or plead not guilty and possibly get completely off or end up with a bigger fine and longer ban. do you think i've got a strong case for pleading not guilty??? plus this is my first offence, i have never been in trouble before i've never even had a speeding ticket.
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Hi there,

If you are convicted of failing to provide a specimen for analysis you will receive a driving disqualification of between 12 and 36 months and a fine or community service or in extreme cases, imprisonment. You should also be given the opportunity to complete the drink driving rehabilitation course seen as it is your first drink driving offence. The exact sentence you receive if convicted will be determinded by the Magistrates and any aggravating and/or mitigating factors surrounding your case.

Your solicitor, after having reviewed all evidence against you is in a much better position to advise you on whether or not you have a strong case for pleading not guilty than anyone on these forums, however someone who may have been in a similar situation to yourself could maybe offer their opinion.

Perhaps you should think about getting a second opinion from another criminal defence solicitor who specialises in drink driving and road traffic law. It may be worth a trip to your doctors to determine if you do have any kind of medical condition, however mild it may be, that could have contributed to your inability to provide a specimen.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.
 
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Hi there, I'm in a similar situation as you regarding failing to provide. I was arrested at home and not offered a breath test then, I'd had a bottle of wine by time the police arrived but to be honest I had no idea they would come become when I banged the car in the car park I had already dealt with the neighbour and at that time had only had two small glasses of wine. it must have been nearly an hour when they came to my house and because I was so shaken I'd finished off the bottle. I tried my hardest to give a breath test at the station but I was obviously shaken and very stressed and a little out of my depth. I am due in court next week after pleading not guilty last month, I havent seen the cctv but am due to do that on wednesday, my solicitor has also requested a copy of the machine maintenance record but I am not too sure if that has been made available. I am dreading the trial, I've no idea how its going to go and its completely ironic because had i had been able to give a reading it would have been hard for them to prosecute because at the time of the accident I wasn't over the limit. Fingers crossed, things go my way, hopefully it should but I know I have a fight on my hands. Have you been back to court yet?
 
Thanks Lisa, its good to know i'm not the only one that couldnt do it! I have a case management hearing on the 5th jan which is to see if any further medical evidence is required and then the trial is on 3rd feb. i am on bail till then which feels rubbish. my life is hold until then.
I've been to my GP who said that it would have been difficult for me to breathe into machine as i had been in an accident and suffered chest injuries. - my breathing still isnt back to normal yet and the accident was over a month ago now. i am going to get my solicitor to write to my GP and ask some questions that will hopefully give me the right answers to get off. well thats what i am praying for!

let me know how the trial goes and what happens etc. Good luck with it, i'll have my fingers crossed for you.
 
Well i've had a complete nightmare since the last post on here.

I went to court on the 5th jan for the pre trial to see if everything would be ready for the trial on 3rd feb. The CPS hadn't provided the info requested that they were due to file at the beginning of Dec and my GP hadnt replied so we werent ready either. My solicitor told me to continue to plead not guilty so thats what i did. When i went in after waiting about 2 hours i was in there for about 5 minutes to be told that i would be charged with another offence of being in charge of a vehicle whilst unfit through either drink or drugs. What a nightmare! I spoke to my solicitor afterwards who said he had never heard of being charged with this new charge for drink and nor had any of his colleagues - he said the CPS obviously knew there was a huge chance of me getting off!

After all this my GP didnt help out as she told me one thing and my solicitor another! I found out from my GP that she wouldnt tell the court that it may have been a possibility that i couldnt do the test because of being in the accident and my chest was injured as she didnt want to end up being sued herself! Obviously she has no idea about the law!!!! My solicitor tried to speak to her before the trial but what with her only working 2 days a week and her ignoring his calls he didnt get to speak to her before the trial.

The trial was cancelled as i pleaded guilty 2 days before it as advised to do by by my solicitor. The hearing ended up taking place on 4th feb and i can honestly say it was the worst day of my life. I had to wait nearly 2 hours to be seen. As soon as my name was called i just couldnt stop myself from crying it was awful and i wasnt doing it for sympathy but to be honest i think it may have actually helped me.

I had a judge instead of the magistrates. The room was full of loads of people just watching me, it was horrible. The judge didnt make me sit in the dock, he let me sit at a table in front of him so i didnt have to look at the public and they could only see the back of me. I wrote a letter to the judge apologising for my behaviour - i kept it very brief and to the point. I also wrote alot of points of how this has affected me and some things of what was going on in my life at the time of the accident. ( i had just been made redundant,etc) I asked my solicitor to read out the ones he thought would be the most effective.

Before i went in my solicitor said i would be expecting a 22 month ban and a fine.

The judge gave me a 12 month ban with the opportunity of doing the driving course. I got a £170 fine plus £65 costs. ( the fine is based on your earnings and as i am not earning much my fine was very low). The judge said he had never had anyone before him showing as much remorse as me. He said while he doesnt condone the incident however it is not the end of the world. He said the most important thing for me now is to let myself move on from this.

I think i was incredibily lucky that i had a judge and not magistrates as i think it may have been a different story.

I have been on a rollercoaster of emotions since this has happened and i can say that it has been very depressing. I was an emotional wreck before the trial and on the day i honestly felt like my life was over. I cried every day and not just a few tears it was as though someone had died or something i cried that much. There was not one day where i didnt think about what was happening. But since the trial i keep remembering what the judge said to me and he is right its not the end of the world and i do need to move on from this. It's certainly not great by any means and i dont think i will ever be the same again. I am applying for jobs at the moment and it is awful when i get to the question do you have a criminal record? it makes me feel sick and i know that when i have interviews that will be the only question i will be worried about.

I just hope that i can really move on from this and that it wont affect me with getting a job or going travelling in the future.
 
Hi DD

Very honest account of your case and congratulations on at least getting over at least the final legal stage of the process.

The judge was right, it's not the end of the world. I think for most of us, it's such a shock being in this position that to repeat our mistake is impossible to imagine.

I have just heard, via email, that my new licence is at home awaiting my return from Thailand. I will say that after 9 months I feel a lot fitter.

Oddly enough, over here the penalty for driving without a licence is about £4 which you pay instantly and you're on your way. Drink driving is more serious, if no one was hurt you can bail yourself to avoid being locked up for a few days before court and the fine is usually about £60. You are not banned from driving, but are on a driving probation period for a while, whatever that means.

I'm not for a moment suggesting that this way is better than ours, but I will say our system is absurdly rigid, taking no account whatsoever on the effect a ban will have on an individual - be it a minor inconvenience or the complete inability to work for the duration. Ours is not a fair or rational system imo.

Best of luck.
 
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