Blew 104, first offence

Convicted Driver Insurance

tp2712

New Member
i am due in court next friday charged with driving motor vechile where above alcohol limit namely 104ml on breath test i can sleep or eat and keep being sick i am so scared they will send me to prison i have been driving 22 years and had no other incidents or points i was stupid for doing it i pleaded guilty and never had a duty solictor as i just wanted to get out of the cells and home as was scared should i use the duty solictor at court ehen i go i have never been in a court room so have no idea what happens
 
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i am due in court next friday charged with driving motor vechile where above alcohol limit namely 104ml on breath test i can sleep or eat and keep being sick i am so scared they will send me to prison i have been driving 22 years and had no other incidents or points i was stupid for doing it i pleaded guilty and never had a duty solictor as i just wanted to get out of the cells and home as was scared should i use the duty solictor at court ehen i go i have never been in a court room so have no idea what happens

Upon a first conviction of driving with excess alcohol and a breath reading of 104 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath sentencing guidelines suggest a low to high level community order and a 23-28 month driving disqualification. As a first time offender you should be given the opportunity to take the drink driving rehabilitation course which once completed can reduce any period of disqualification imposed by up to 25%.

As the alcohol content in the breath specimen you provided exceeded 87.5 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath you will be classed as a high risk offender. This means that upon expiration of your driving disqualification and before your driving licence will be returned to you, you will need to satisy the DVLA of your fitness to drive by taking a DVLA medical.

Court duty solicitors are only under obligation to provide legal assistance to defendants who are facing a possible prison sentence which in your case does not apply. Our guide to appearing at magistrates court for drink driving offences may prove useful to you.
 
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thank you for your advise i feel a little better as you never said i might get a prison sentence i deserve to be banned so hoping that is all
 
This site helped me so very much when I was going through what you are going through. I blew 82 so I can't comment upon your 104 from experience but I can sympathise with how you are feeling.

I didn't take up the offer of a duty solicitor when I was arrested. I knew what I'd done and I just went along with being in a cell all night etc.

The worst part for me was the waiting time until my court appearance. That is when this site helped me to feel 'human' again. It is comforting to know that you are not alone when you are feeling very alone.

I decided to contact a solicitor and, for me, she was worth every penny of the £200+VAT that I paid. I didn't want any of my family or friends to be with me at court but my solicitor guided me through the process in a way I could not have done myself. I wrote a letter to the presiding magistrate which I took to court along with three other letters from family and friends. I dressed smartly and showed remorse, (it was easy to show remorse as I was totally remorseful and totally ashamed of what I'd done).

I am sure, like me, you will feel very much better when you leave court with whatever punishment you have been given. It's facing the unknown that is punishing you at the moment and I know exactly how you feel.

I'm a month into my ban and to be honest it isn't that bad. I'm walking a lot more and use public transport. If you have a smartphone there are some great apps that give you live bus/train times!!

I hope court goes well for you. You are not alone and, as I said, when it's over you will feel much better.
 
ty for response and words of comfort i cant get over how stupid i was i cant eat or sleep and i am so angry and ashamed of my self for doing it i will let you know outcome of court on 12th april i keep getting told to write a letter but dont know what to put in it except i am sorry and realise how stupid and dangerous it was
 
you are not alone - I blew 87 -am due in court this Tuesday- the last 2 weeks have been awful, not eating and very stressed to say the least - obviously totally my fault and I will never do this again, first offence 28 years clean licence
 
i am due in court next friday charged with driving motor vechile where above alcohol limit namely 104ml on breath test i can sleep or eat and keep being sick i am so scared they will send me to prison i have been driving 22 years and had no other incidents or points i was stupid for doing it i pleaded guilty and never had a duty solictor as i just wanted to get out of the cells and home as was scared should i use the duty solictor at court ehen i go i have never been in a court room so have no idea what happens


Hi there after reading your post i thought i would shed a little light on this situation. Please do not worry i can assure you 100% that you will not go to prison for this i blew double what you blew and only got a ban and also a £250 fine. One thing you should know though is because you blew a high reading you will be classed as a high risk offender so when the courts serve you your ban you will have to take a medical test with the dvla at the end of your ban, im going through the process now myself. Try and not let this worry you i know so many people that have been done for drink driving and never received a prison sentence the only way they would do this is if you have been convicted of drink driving before or you injured someone whilst drink driving so you have nothing to worry about. Best of luck....
 
thankyou as i have been worried to extent i cant eat or sleep alsoany one know if can i transfer registered keeper to my boyfriend of my car and he use it but i would still be legal owner of car and transfer it back when my ban is up cause if i sell it i would properly struggle to buy my self another one
 
thankyou as i have been worried to extent i cant eat or sleep alsoany one know if can i transfer registered keeper to my boyfriend of my car and he use it but i would still be legal owner of car and transfer it back when my ban is up cause if i sell it i would properly struggle to buy my self another one

I kept my car in my name and got a policy in my Dad's name at first. As soon as you are banned you need to sort the insurance as your original policy will be invalid!
 
ok thankyou i look into it as the tax due end of may i going see if i can keep it registered in my name and insured for him see what they say
 
I went to court yesterday 26 months ban 225 pound fine and drink driving course which takes 25% of length of ban just glad it
over going sell car so not tempted to drive it
 
Hi, I was wondering if anyone has any advice as I am petrified I may be sent to prison with a breath reading of 98. I have no previous convictions, I’ve never even received a speeding fine before. I have court in a couple of weeks time and have now instructed a solicitor to act on my behalf, this is costing me over £900, any amount of money is worth it to me, I can’t sleep at all with the stress of this and losing my licence which will not only affect my work but also as my brother who as a single parent relies on me. My nephews lives will also be massively affected. Any help or advice will be appreciated.
 
Hi, I was wondering if anyone has any advice as I am petrified I may be sent to prison with a breath reading of 98. I have no previous convictions, I’ve never even received a speeding fine before. I have court in a couple of weeks time and have now instructed a solicitor to act on my behalf, this is costing me over £900, any amount of money is worth it to me, I can’t sleep at all with the stress of this and losing my licence which will not only affect my work but also as my brother who as a single parent relies on me. My nephews lives will also be massively affected. Any help or advice will be appreciated.
You will be fine .. you will get a minimum 12 month driving ban .. try stay calm .. represent yourself and save the £900
 
You will be fine .. you will get a minimum 12 month driving ban .. try stay calm .. represent yourself and save the £900
Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate it. I was told by the officer that as the reading is so high I could get a sentence, at the very minimum a 2 1/2yr ban with a community order and possibly a fine with it.
I have already taken out a loan to pay £500 deposit. I spoke to a few solicitors and they said a solicitor will be needed, again due to a high reading, if I didn’t it would look like I am not taking it seriously. I still have two weeks to wait until court. I’m embarrassed to tell anyone and just really struggling at the moment to come to terms with all.
 
What a surprise, solicitors telling you that you need a solicitor.......
with a reading of 98, for a first time offence, you will be looking at a 23-28 month ban, and a fine or a community penalty.
if You are “bang to rights” then the only thing a solicitor can do is to try to mitigate the length of the ban down (but only realistically to the 23 months as a minimum) and try to persuade the magistrates to fine you instead of a community penalty (or the other way round if you have no job or money)
You do not need a specialist solicitor to do this, you can represent yourself, explain your circumstances and hand in a couple of character references yourself (your solicitor will probably ask you to get them for him anyway!)
People tell me on my courses that they typically pay a generic solicitor £300 or do for this.
if you pay for a solicitor and then say you cannot pay a fine how will that look?
Did a solicitor actually tell you it would not look like you were taking the offence seriously if you did not have a solicitor? If he / she did then they are taking the something.... and it is not the offence!
 
Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate it. I was told by the officer that as the reading is so high I could get a sentence, at the very minimum a 2 1/2yr ban with a community order and possibly a fine with it.
I have already taken out a loan to pay £500 deposit. I spoke to a few solicitors and they said a solicitor will be needed, again due to a high reading, if I didn’t it would look like I am not taking it seriously. I still have two weeks to wait until court. I’m embarrassed to tell anyone and just really struggling at the moment to come to terms with all.
Unfortunately these things happen and the Police can often try make you feel far worse than you should which is victimisation in my book .. you have not had an RTA and as Price says up to a 24 month ban with every likelyhood you get to do the reduction coarse too .. my ex got done last year 1st offence ever and blew 80+ she received a 12 month ban and allowed to do the coarse so 9 month in total .. if you will be keeping your job take an employer reference etc and mitigate as much as possible in your favour ..you can see the duty solicitor on the day for free .
 
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