DD Offence

[george07]

Hi,

On the 07/07/2010 I made a big mistake. Firstly I should tell you that I passed on the 13th May 2010 so only had my license around 2 months.

I was planning on going round my friends house to watch some football and have a few drinks that night and so tried to get a lift there off one of my friends but none of them could do it. So I decided I would just drive and only have a couple. I got round my friends house at around 7pm and had around 3 cans between then and 11pm. We then played poker for around an hour then I fell asleep. I woke up about at 1am and felt fine and decided to drive home. I genuinely believed I would be well under the limit as it was over such a long period of time and I had a little nap too. A friend who was going to stay over his house decided to come back with me as he lives just down the road to me.

I was about 300 yards down his road and there came a stretch of road where only one vehicle could fit down. I saw a car down the other end of the road so I flashed them to give way. They were going extremely slow so I flashed them again and waited patiently. As they got closer I realised it was a police car and they got out the car. They did all the usual checks with insurance and license etc and all was fine. They spoke to my friend in the car and could smell alcohol on his breath so they asked me if I'd had anything to drink. I told them the truth and they said they were going to beathalise me. I failed. They took me to the police station and I blew 44 and 45mg in 100mg of breath. They offered me blood/urine test but I decided against it as I didn't believe it would be of much use. They put me in a cell for an hour then breathalised me again and I was about 20mg so they took me back to the car and let me drive home. I have a youth magistartes court on 22/07/2010 and of course have some questions.

Things going my way;
I was 100% co-operative
I was driving sensible and even tried to give way to the police car
I was only driving around 2 miles
I wasn't massively over the limit

Things against;
I'm 17 and only had my license around 2 months.

My questions are:

Who should I write my letter to the courts to? (Police officer told me I should prepare a letter to take with me to court but who should I address it to, e.g. Dear Magistartes?)

Is there anyway I can avoid a ban? I have well and truly learnt my lesson and after hours of research I now understand the implications a conviction can have on ones career which is why I fully agree with the zero tolerance level as there is no room for judgement.

Many thanks for any help in advance.

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

A minimum 12 month disqualification if mandatory for drink driving in the absence of a "Special Reason". From what you say there do not appear to be any special reasons in your case. There is no reason to suspect you would get any longer than the 12 month minimum which can be reduced by a further 25% if you complete the rehabilition course, which you should ask the court to put you on.

As a Youth, if you plead guilty to the offence and if you have no pervious convictions then the Court must impose something called a Referral Order, instead of a fine (the only alternative to a referral order for a first time young offender pleading guilty is a prison sentence, which won't happen in your case). The referral order is for a period of between 3 to 12 months and involves attendance on a pre-planned scheme designed to reduce the chances of you re-offending. The advantage of a referral order is that it is spent as soon as the order is complete. You can find more information about referral orders at http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/docs/referral-order-guidance.pdf

In addition you may be ordered to pay a contribution towards prosecution costs.

You ought to take a parent with you to court, although at 17 the court have a discretion to deal with you without a parent present. Also take both parts of your driving licence with you.

A letter expressing regret and remorse will help but I would ask a solicitor to look at it before you hand it in. You can address the letter to "The Justices of the Peace" or "Your Worships". Take it with you and produce it on the day of the hearing. There is no need to send it in advance.

There is a guide to appearing at the MAgistrates Court elsewhere on this site that you may find useful.

Good luck.

 

[george07]

Hi there,

Last week I was given a 12 month ban and offered the course, an £85 court contribution fee and a referral order.

I have been to Young Offenders and they said they would assess me for 3 months (the minimum). So once I have completed this, I was told my conviction becomes 'spent'? Does this mean after this period I will not have to declare it on job applications etc?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

In general, that's right. However there are some jobs (like working with children, vulnerable people of working in certain government departments) where you will be asked to disclose even spent convictions. If the question simply asks about previous convictions and is silent about spent convictions or the Rehabilitation of OFfenders Act, then you are entitled to assume that you don't need to disclose it once it is spent.