Question

Convicted Driver Insurance

jp2102

New Member
I was caught drink driving on Saturday .
I had alcohol in the car at the time .

Was out on a night out on the Friday and hit the drink pretty hard thought I was OK to drive.
But then topped up during the Saturday.
Blew 97 at the police station . I was driving to go to my brothers to continue drinking.

Cooperated fully with police and held my hands up straight away.

Had a pretty hard time of it recently suffer from depression and I am an alcoholic .

This is the first time I have ever drink drived , my job at the time was a sales manager and it is a company car.

I owned up to my work and asked for help regarding my drinking, they offered me to resign today and a settlement agreement put in place . I have also moved to Glasgow but paperwork has my old address do I just change this when I go to court?

I have arranged to go to aa this Friday and get proper help.

So I have lost my job , my transport and respect from family and friends .

Do I mention the illness to the court ? What am I looking at sentence wise?
Do I have to disclose this when looking for other employment ?

Any help would be appreciated .
 
John,

Thank you for your post and I am sorry to hear about the issues you are facing.

Certainly, the Sheriff will want to hear about you in determining the appropriate sentence to be imposed. That you recognise you have a problem and are now taking steps to address this are relevant, as are the facts that you are a first offender who was co-operative with the police and who has already been punished professionally.

You should inform the Court of your new address and request that you are placed on the drink driving rehabilitation course in supplement to your aa meetings.

The range of potential penalty is broad as there are so many factors for the Sheriff to take into account; with that reading the net ban could be anything between 9 and 24 months. Indeed, it may be prudent to arrange for representation to ensure you are given the best possible chance of minimising the sentence imposed.

I am afraid that I am not in a position to advise as to your legal duties relating to disclosure of this matter to potential employers, although of course if asked this will count as a criminal conviction.
 
Thanks for your response .

I have been dealing with an alcohol problem for some time and previously attended a alcohol councillor but this was a relapse.

I don't have the funds available for a solicitor so will the duty one be OK ?

Should I write a letter and if so any information I should put in it ?

And with the alcohol in the car make a difference ?

Thanks

John
 
John,

A duty solicitor will be available and you should mention this to the front desk when you arrive at court.

A letter would not be necessary as you will be personally present and your solicitor can make verbal submissions to the Sheriff.

It is difficult at this stage to quantify what, if any, effect, the alcohol in the car would have. That is something that can be assessed once you are given your case papers on the morning of court.

Wishing you the best of luck at the hearing,
 
Thanks again.

Just looking for a bit of peace of mind with the anxiety issues I have , will I be looking at a custodial sentence in any way ?
 
John,

On the basis of the information provided, you are not at risk of a custodial sentence.
 
Thanks for the response Michael,

I have been doing a bit of research ..could you advise on the following

The police officer fails to ask all relevant questions to eliminate the risk of the breath sample being contaminated..

What were they meant to ask ? I wasn't asked anything .

Where the breath reading is at a certain level the police are required to give the motorist the opportunity of having a blood or urine test.

What are the levels for this ?

Your rights on providing an alternative sample must be explained fairly and properly

I wasn't offered this or had no idea I could have until looking on this forum and into it a bit more. Why would this be ?

Thanks

John
 
John,

The right to an alternative specimen of blood or urine is no longer part of the law. Even when it was, it did not apply to readings above 50 in breath.

If you sought to explore possible contamination of the breath specimen you would require to plead not guilty as it is only then that you are afforded access to all the evidence the Crown has, although I note that your contention of contamination appears to be purely speculative. You should discuss this with the duty solicitor
 
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