Support and help required, please

[Stupid girl]

Hi. I'm just posting as been reading this forum and I was charged with DD last Tuesday. I'm completely devastated..yes my fault entirely but wondering how I'm going to get through this and move on with my life, not to mention the court hearing. I'm an absolute wreck. Everyone is in the same host here it would seem and it's good yo read other people's posts.

 

[DonkeyKong]

Replying to you, because I just wanted someone to do the same for me when I arrived here. Don’t worry about the court hearing - it’s just a procedural thing. It isn’t the worst bit of what will happen to you. I was terrified too, but I’m still alive and kicking for now 7 months in. Without knowing what you did, what you blew, and whether or not other people were involved... it’s hard to say what will happen. If you want any predictions, you need to post your circumstances.

 

[Stupid girl]

Replying to you, because I just wanted someone to do the same for me when I arrived here. Don’t worry about the court hearing - it’s just a procedural thing. It isn’t the worst bit of what will happen to you. I was terrified too, but I’m still alive and kicking for now 7 months in. Without knowing what you did, what you blew, and whether or not other people were involved... it’s hard to say what will happen. If you want any predictions, you need to post your circumstances.

Well a good number of years ago I stopped drinking as I had a medical problem and shouldn't drink so I haven't for a very long time ..up until recently..about 18 months ago. I'm a woman of a certain age and basically think my hormones are everywhere so I get stressed, in a tizz..etc and I took a few drinks on ocassion to get me through these episodes. I should have got help with the busses really but I didn't want to admit anything to anyone. My husband has noticed I've had a drink a few times and the last time it happened, he said we were finished if it happened again, obviously as he was concerned about my health. We aren't talking hard drinking here, just wine. Any how..last Tuesdsy I had a stress morning, decided I would work from home and stupidly had a drink only to realise I had an appointment late morning that I needed to attend so rather than cancel it, I was an idiot and thought I'll just get there, get back and that would be it. In a nutshell, I got stopped, taken to the station and breathelized 99 on the reader. I had had less than three quarters of a bottle of wine but I'm to.d that is high. It doesn't the matter anyway, I was over. I've been in pieces since, my husband hasn't spoken to me since and told me he sees no future for us. Work wise, I can do trains. I will have to get my son to school somehow but I walk a lot anyway so I'm hoping I can do that one ok. I've been reading all sorts into things..being put in prison and also that the press will take my photo and report on it in the paper.!! I was charged in the City and I live about 20 miles away so I'm hoping I can contain it. I haven't told anyone and am trying to keep it that way. I don't have any family where I live so that's not a problem. This is my first ever time of doing anything wrong and I assure you I am now going for help with my stresses and age and am teetotal again..

 

[DonkeyKong]

At 99 blow you are looking at a minimum 23 month ban, with 25% off if you take the rehabilitation program.
So, assuming you hurt nobody, damaged nothing, and it’s a first time offence...
You are DEFINITELY NOT going to prison. Your max sentence is high-level community order, and you will be at the low to medium level. I blew 124 and got 200 hours. I was in the prison band - you are not. I didn’t get sent to prison.
The local newspapers differ. I was in mine. Just my name, my wrong address, and the wrong sentence. No photo. As far as I am aware, nobody I know saw it.
You will have to pay court costs and victim costs - about -£180 total.
There is nothing good here. But it won’t be as bad as you think initially. It will, unfortunately be much worse than you can even imagine after all the legal stuff is done.

 

[Stupid girl]

At 99 blow you are looking at a minimum 23 month ban, with 25% off if you take the rehabilitation program.
So, assuming you hurt nobody, damaged nothing, and it’s a first time offence...
You are DEFINITELY NOT going to prison. Your max sentence is high-level community order, and you will be at the low to medium level. I blew 124 and got 200 hours. I was in the prison band - you are not. I didn’t get sent to prison.
The local newspapers differ. I was in mine. Just my name, my wrong address, and the wrong sentence. No photo. As far as I am aware, nobody I know saw it.
You will have to pay court costs and victim costs - about -£180 total.
There is nothing good here. But it won’t be as bad as you think initially. It will, unfortunately be much worse than you can even imagine after all the legal stuff is done.

Thankyou for your response, you are very kind in your advice. I just don't understand the point you make about community order and low to medium level. Also in what respect do you mean it will be worse after the legal stuff is over? I understand I've lost my car but what else? No I was alone, no collision, nothing damaged.

 

[TipsyNurse]

Sorry to hear - as DK says it is up from now on.

For your reading to be 99 it's likely you may have had something to drink the night before? If you do your liver only processes alcohol at a certain speed so you will have had to get through last night before what you had that morning.

Unless you are well known it is very unlikely they would publish an your photo because they can't take photos in court. They would need to catch you entering or leaving the court. They may well publish your name, address, reading and sentence because they are public record so they don't even need to turn up to court to get them.

Your reading is too high for just a fine so you will likely get about 100hrs of community service along with your ban. You will be referred to the probation service and they will make the arrangements from then on.

Most people feel some relief after court because everything is known and the days are being counted down.

 

[Stupid girl]

Sorry to hear - as DK says it is up from now on.

For your reading to be 99 it's likely you may have had something to drink the night before? If you do your liver only processes alcohol at a certain speed so you will have had to get through last night before what you had that morning.

Unless you are well known it is very unlikely they would publish an your photo because they can't take photos in court. They would need to catch you entering or leaving the court. They may well publish your name, address, reading and sentence because they are public record so they don't even need to turn up to court to get them.

Your reading is too high for just a fine so you will likely get about 100hrs of community service along with your ban. You will be referred to the probation service and they will make the arrangements from then on.

Most people feel some relief after court because everything is known and the days are being counted down.

Again, Thankyou. Everything you say makes sense. Yes I think once I get through court I can put it behind me and look at putting the future right. I've been working through how to plan travel and getting around everyday life after the ban and that's helping to clear my head if I'm honest. I don't mind community service, I've done volunteer work before! I'm thinking after addressing things as I already am, I will come out the other side of this a stronger person. Anyone else feel like that?

 

[Stupid girl]

At 99 blow you are looking at a minimum 23 month ban, with 25% off if you take the rehabilitation program.
So, assuming you hurt nobody, damaged nothing, and it’s a first time offence...
You are DEFINITELY NOT going to prison. Your max sentence is high-level community order, and you will be at the low to medium level. I blew 124 and got 200 hours. I was in the prison band - you are not. I didn’t get sent to prison.
The local newspapers differ. I was in mine. Just my name, my wrong address, and the wrong sentence. No photo. As far as I am aware, nobody I know saw it.
You will have to pay court costs and victim costs - about -£180 total.
There is nothing good here. But it won’t be as bad as you think initially. It will, unfortunately be much worse than you can even imagine after all the legal stuff is done.

Can I ask how long your ban was? If you don't mind my prying?

 

[DonkeyKong]

Have a look at this.
https://www.drinkdriving.org/drink_driving_sentencing_guidelines.php#excess_alcohol
That will tell you what your sentence will be min/max.
You are going to get +- 100 hours of community service. Not prison. Don’t panic about this. You will probably be sorting clothes in a charity shop. It is incredibly boring, but it won’t kill you. After your 2 year ban, and you get your licence back.. you cannot hire a car for 5 years. You cannot go to Canada for 10 years. You cannot go to the US on an ESTA ever. Your home/house insurance may be cancelled. You will never be able to get certain jobs because an enhanced CRB will show you as a criminal.

 

[Stupid girl]

Have a look at this.
https://www.drinkdriving.org/drink_driving_sentencing_guidelines.php#excess_alcohol
That will tell you what your sentence will be min/max.
You are going to get +- 100 hours of community service. Not prison. Don’t panic about this. You will probably be sorting clothes in a charity shop. It is incredibly boring, but it won’t kill you. After your 2 year ban, and you get your licence back.. you cannot hire a car for 5 years. You cannot go to Canada for 10 years. You cannot go to the US on an ESTA ever. Your home/house insurance may be cancelled. You will never be able to get certain jobs because an enhanced CRB will show you as a criminal.

That is very helpful. Thankyou. I can live with all that. I've travelled US and Canada thankfully, I'm self employed so that's a blessing and I never hire cars. I think this is a wake up call for sure. You are all a great help. I've got five weeks before my hearing to get sorted. Btw, when I was looking for a Solicitor, I spoke with companies who wanted me to plead not guilty on my trial dates whilst they looked for "holes" in my case. Anyone used this type of approach? They wanted almost 7 thousand pounds for the fee!!!

 

[TipsyNurse]

Well you were there to know if there were any holes in the case, but if there is no doubt you are driving and they followed the form with the correct procedure at the evidential test machine it seems very unlikely there would be an obvious defence.

DD charges are very difficult to defend against because the prosecution only needs to prove those two points, that you were driving and that the breath test reading was reliable. Solicitors get paid win or lose so if you are considering employing one you should ask them to explain exactly what defence they will be running.

If you think you may drink more than you want then the silver lining may well be to address it now, because before you get your licence back you will need pay for a DVLA medical where they do a CDT test, which shows your current level of drinking.

Will keep my fingers crossed for you!

 

[DonkeyKong]

Absolutely NOBODY will get you off. Don’t do it. If you want someone to help you through the day in court, then do it I paid £395 for my solicitor - all he did was guide me through the process. I was very glad he was there. He made a shit time slighltly less shit than it would have been. He did NOT get me an easier sentence. If you are pleading guilty, then you have nothing to defend anyway. On my DID course yesterday I talked with a guy who had spent £7000 on defence. He still lost. It is great to have a guy on your side, and for me, it was worth the £395 because the only word I had to say was “guilty”. You really don’t need a solicitor unless you are pleading not guilty. And if you are... it’s going to be much much worse.

 

[Stupid girl]

Absolutely NOBODY will get you off. Don’t do it. If you want someone to help you through the day in court, then do it I paid £395 for my solicitor - all he did was guide me through the process. I was very glad he was there. He made a shit time slighltly less shit than it would have been. He did NOT get me an easier sentence. If you are pleading guilty, then you have nothing to defend anyway. On my DID course yesterday I talked with a guy who had spent £7000 on defence. He still lost. It is great to have a guy on your side, and for me, it was worth the £395 because the only word I had to say was “guilty”. You really don’t need a solicitor unless you are pleading not guilty. And if you are... it’s going to be much much worse.

No, I'm not going down that route at all, just wondered about your opinions. Thankyou.

 

[DonkeyKong]

Stupid girl... you asked what I got... (blew 124, wasn’t driving, no damage to anyone or anything)
- Court costs and victim charge ... about £180
- 200 hours community service. <—- ask them for the kind of work you want. They are pretty accommodating.
- 30 month ban, reduced to 22.5 by taking the 3 Saturday TTC course (around £200) <—- ask for this because you have to get it offered on your court day. I just finished mine, it’s really good.
- 1 year Probation, with 10 RAR days. (Rehabilition Activity Requirement) <—- basically just appointments with the probation officer to discuss stuff. They are not days, just an hour each.
- Drink Impared Driver Program (DID) - not everyone gets this. It covers the same ground as the optional TTC course, but stretches it over 15 x 2.5 hour evenings. Basically doing group discussions with other Drink Drivers to think about what you did. It doesn’t give you any credit towards anything, but you have to do it without missing more than 2 sessions or you have violated your probation and will go back to court.

Your ban will be less than mine.
Your community service will be much less than mine.
You might not get DID. <—- A guy I did CS with was worse than me, and he didn’t get it.
You might get less, or even none RAR days.

Just as an aside... as Tipsy-Nurse alluded to... you had more than 3/4 of a bottle of wine in you when you blew 99.

Oh, yeah, and in terms of extra costs... I have probably spent over £1000 in the last seven months on Taxis to get to the courses, the Probo appointments, the Community Service. Unless you can walk there, or bike, or your partner takes you... it racks up very quickly.

 

[Stupid girl]

Stupid girl... you asked what I got... (blew 124, wasn’t driving, no damage to anyone or anything)
- Court costs and victim charge ... about £180
- 200 hours community service. <—- ask them for the kind of work you want. They are pretty accommodating.
- 30 month ban, reduced to 22.5 by taking the 3 Saturday TTC course (around £200) <—- ask for this because you have to get it offered on your court day. I just finished mine, it’s really good.
- 1 year Probation, with 10 RAR days. (Rehabilition Activity Requirement) <—- basically just appointments with the probation officer to discuss stuff. They are not days, just an hour each.
- Drink Impared Driver Program (DID) - not everyone gets this. It covers the same ground as the optional TTC course, but stretches it over 15 x 2.5 hour evenings. Basically doing group discussions with other Drink Drivers to think about what you did. It doesn’t give you any credit towards anything, but you have to do it without missing more than 2 sessions or you have violated your probation and will go back to court.

Your ban will be less than mine.
Your community service will be much less than mine.
You might not get DID. <—- A guy I did CS with was worse than me, and he didn’t get it.
You might get less, or even none RAR days.

Just as an aside... as Tipsy-Nurse alluded to... you had more than 3/4 of a bottle of wine in you when you blew 99.

Oh, yeah, and in terms of extra costs... I have probably spent over £1000 in the last seven months on Taxis to get to the courses, the Probo appointments, the Community Service. Unless you can walk there, or bike, or your partner takes you... it racks up very quickly.

Thankyou, you have been over and above helpful. All the very best to you.

 

[Stupid girl]

Stupid girl... you asked what I got... (blew 124, wasn’t driving, no damage to anyone or anything)
- Court costs and victim charge ... about £180
- 200 hours community service. <—- ask them for the kind of work you want. They are pretty accommodating.
- 30 month ban, reduced to 22.5 by taking the 3 Saturday TTC course (around £200) <—- ask for this because you have to get it offered on your court day. I just finished mine, it’s really good.
- 1 year Probation, with 10 RAR days. (Rehabilition Activity Requirement) <—- basically just appointments with the probation officer to discuss stuff. They are not days, just an hour each.
- Drink Impared Driver Program (DID) - not everyone gets this. It covers the same ground as the optional TTC course, but stretches it over 15 x 2.5 hour evenings. Basically doing group discussions with other Drink Drivers to think about what you did. It doesn’t give you any credit towards anything, but you have to do it without missing more than 2 sessions or you have violated your probation and will go back to court.

Your ban will be less than mine.
Your community service will be much less than mine.
You might not get DID. <—- A guy I did CS with was worse than me, and he didn’t get it.
You might get less, or even none RAR days.

Just as an aside... as Tipsy-Nurse alluded to... you had more than 3/4 of a bottle of wine in you when you blew 99.

Oh, yeah, and in terms of extra costs... I have probably spent over £1000 in the last seven months on Taxis to get to the courses, the Probo appointments, the Community Service. Unless you can walk there, or bike, or your partner takes you... it racks up very quickly.

Quick question. Can I get my community service done as quick as I wanted to. I.e. If I did say two weeks getting the hours done in one hit. Is that allowed or do I have space it out. ?

 

[DonkeyKong]

Quick question. Can I get my community service done as quick as I wanted to. I.e. If I did say two weeks getting the hours done in one hit. Is that allowed or do I have space it out. ?

It depends on the placement you are given. My initial placement was going to be at the local dump. This was exactly because I said I wanted to get it done as quickly as possible. The dump were desperate for people, so could offer 9 hours Saturday and Sunday... so 18 hours per week. I didn’t want to be “seen” in my community, so asked for the Charity Shop. The Charity Shop was open Saturday for 8 hours, and Sunday for 6. So I got 14 hours per week by working both days. I also took a week off (proper) work - my wife went off on holiday for 7 days to Spain, and I stayed in the U.K. doing Monday-Friday in the Charity Shop. That one week got me 40 hours. It was hard. I effectively did 68 hours by doing the before and after weekends, plus the 5 days. So, yes, if you get a nice placement who is open all the time, and just want as many hours as possible, then yeah, you can tick off your hours quickly.

 

[TipsyNurse]

Just to add to the excellent advice from DK, you don't just get allocated at random. You will meet with the probation service to agree a placement. As DK has said more hours may be a trade off for a less desirable placement.

 

[price1367]

The charity shops quite like Community Service placements because the clients sometimes stay on afterwards as volunteers anyway because they can see the worth in what they have been doing and the other staff are usually pretty nice.

 

[Stupid girl]

Just to add to the excellent advice from DK, you don't just get allocated at random. You will meet with the probation service to agree a placement. As DK has said more hours may be a trade off for a less desirable placement.

Thankyou. All your comments are very much appreciated.