alcohol test by urine sample

Convicted Driver Insurance

Louise 73

Member
Hi, Im hoping to get some advice. I was arrested for drink driving last week and have been searching for a solicitors online and have been quoted prices that from the highest to the lowest is still very expensive for me. I know that I do need legal help to question the continuity once the sample has been analysed but for financial reasons is there any difference between instructing a solicitor now or waiting for the results which I have heard that there are many cases in which the results may not be returned or charges may not be brought in time? Also I have heard that there is a high success rate in solicitors challenging urine samples due to it been a complex procedure, does anyone know if this is true?
 
There are not many cases where the results fail to come back or time out after the 6 months to raise a summons.
there are cases when the result comes back under but the police (cant be bothered) forget to inform the suspect but if it is over you are almost certain to hear.
There is not a lot that a solicitor can do pending the results, that you cannot do for yourself.
You should have been given a part of the urine sample to take with you. You could have this analysed yourself at a laboratory to compare against the police sample. That will give you peace of mind that your sample WAS the one that the police had analysed in your name as they should match up.
You can request the police to supply you with a copy of your custody video. That can be used to show if correct procedure was followed. It can be good to apply for it early rather than leave it 3-4 months until you get the urine result as some forces recycle the videos after a few weeks.
The two scenarios that are most likely to produce errors in procedure (but not as often as specialist solicitors make out) are urine samples and hospital procedure.

One other thing to consider, to be honest it does not seem that you are concerned about the result, more that you are looking for a loophole to get out of being over the limit....... if that IS the case, you might NOT want to compare the result of your sample against the police one as that would tend to help the prosecution case if this came out.

Solicitors will always be optimistic, but remember they never lose as they get paid whatever the result! To mount a technical defence, challenging the chain of custody, is likely to cost you anywhere between £3,000-£10,000.
If you are successful, you will not get your all your costs back. The best you could expect is to be awarded Legal Aid rates of pay which would only cover perhaps £500-£1,000.
If you lose, you have lost the discount on the fine for an early guilty plea, the court costs will have gone up from £85 (pleading guilty) to at least £650.
These are the hidden risks that solicitors conveniently ‘forget’ to mention.
 
Last edited:
Write to ‘ the officer in charge’ at the police station you were held at, give them your name, address, date of birth, the time (roughly) and date you were in custody for drink driving and request that you be supplied with a copy of the video relation to your time in custody, to include the testing time period.
There may be a bit of a delay in getting it if it features other people in custody which they will then have to edit out before you are supplied with it. You can request a copy of your custody record as well. That way if you do get a solicitor he / she is not charging you for doing something you can do yourself!
 
Enter code DRINKDRIVING10 during checkout for 10% off
Top