61 microgrammes reading - help or advice please !

[pete137]

Hello, Im new here and very worried after being very stupid last night. Any help anyone could give me would be so very much appreciated.

I very very stupidly got in my car last night after drinking and as I pulled away a police car flashed me straight away - they had obviously seen me get into my car and waited for me to pull away. I had driven barely a few meters and was arrested with a reading of 61 microgrammes at the station. I was in the car for just 5 seconds. I know how dangerous and stupid this was, I am so ashamed of myself. I have to go to court in a few weeks and know I will lose my licence. This will result in me losing my job as a driver, and due to existing credit card debts I have, it will end up in me losing my house I share with my wife. My wife doesn't drive so our elderly parents rely on me alone for their day to day needs.


Im not looking for any magical answers, I know I only have myself to blame, but if anyone can give me any help or advice I would realy appreciate it. Is it worth me paying out for a solicitor as he would be better at pleading my case - or should I just go with the duty solicitor of the day. What would the rough price range be ? I have a clean licence and have never been arrested before and am 39 years old.

Thank you

 

[price1367]

Pete,
The guidance for a reading of 61 is a 17 - 22 month ban. As you are only just into that bracket, and there do not appear to be any aggravating circumstances, I would expect you to get 17 months.
You will not get legal aid for a solicitor, the costs can vary between £300 to £800 for a solicitor for a guilty plea, but the duty solicitor is free at court on the day.
He/ she may well speak up for you at court, but not always so it would be as well to write down what you would like to say to the magistrates in case you clam up in the courtroom. Explain how sorry you are, and the impact the ban will have on your family, including parents. Suitably smart for the day and you may just get it below 17 months. The best reduction in your ban is from doing a drink drive rehabilitation course (note I have an interest in this, but there are other providers... and it is sound advice) because that will take up to a quarter off the ban you are given at court. The magistrates should offer it to you, but if they don't, make sure you ask while you are in the court because it cannot be offered retrospectively.
There will be a fine, based on your income and a 'victim surcharge' of £20 or 10% of the fine whichever is greater. If you are to lose your job, best to show that to the magistrates in writing, but talk to your employer about this. If you have been there for a while they may find other duties for you. Also don't wait until it gets to the stage of losing your house, talk to your mortgage provider to arrange a payment reduction or make an appointment with a money advice service / Citizens Advice Bureau.

 

[badtime]

Sorry to hear about your situation, having been there for the last 9 months and my case was recently canned last month. since you were breath tested i dont know if you have any defences. My reading was in blood. I had to provide a blood sample because on 3 occasions the reading at the breath machine gave 'mouth alcohol' which is an error. From what I have heard from the solicitors i have consulted if you provide a breath sample they look at the calibration results of the breath machine, they sometimes question cctv footage (or the lack of it) and the general procedure in filling a form called the mgdda filled by the officer doing the test. if breath test is followed by blood they fill up mgddb.

I have found out that i am a villain here but i dont care, i understand the situation you are in and I wish you do not end up loosing your job, your house and possibly your family who need you to drive! The choices are simple if you plead guilty you can end your misery pretty soon and can plan on how to live life without a license. I see that your problem is that you will face financial difficulties but when a man works he gets paid. Parents can take the bus or a taxi. If having a criminal record doesn't bother you then so be it. If you do decide to plead not guilty and hire a specialist solicitor you definitely will pay through your nose, the misery will continue for months and at the end of it you either serve the sentence that is coming or you get away from it with a clean record (unless you dont offend during the course of your case). I chose the later because I simply didnt want a criminal record and hence I had no choice but to gamble.

Regarding consulting a specialist motoring solicitor in your region. Most of them do the first consultation for free after skimming through your evidence. The problem is fighting a case isn't cheap. Mine cost £6000 in total and all paid in stages as the case proceeded (fee for solicitor showing up to plead not guilty, fee for preparing the case, fee for solicitor showing up in a case management hearing and finally the solicitor hiring a specialist barrister to defend the case). I also contacted few other people probably not on this forum who have successfully defended cases and one said it cost her £5000 while another man said it cost him £22,000 (apparently he had a couple of hearings adjourned). If you successfully defend the case the court award you cost back but probably you will only get half of it back and it takes ages. I am due to get back my share no earlier than Q4 of this year. There is absolutely no guarantee that you will succeed if you go down this path. you will hang on to your license till you are proved guilty. I really suggest you do your math regarding finances and self-analyse your case carefully to see if the police did make a mistake. What I have told you here is more that what you will probably hear from a specialist solicitor

I wish you goodluck.