Was ban harsh, any options

Convicted Driver Insurance

TonyM

New Member
My son went to court today on a drink driving charge having been caught with 57mg in 100mg of breath. He is 18 years old with no previous convictions for anything. He passed his test 5months ago. When we arrived at court we spoke to the duty solicitor, he told us that it was a straightforward case, so would not need representing in court. He said he would recieve a 12 month ban, but be offered a drink awareness course to reduce it to 9 months. The fine would be dependant on his income. We asked if he would have to retake his test, to which the duty solicitor said no that would not be a condition.
He went into court and was abit overawed by the whole thing and didn't know what he was expected to say or do. He had a letter of mitigation from his boss stating he is of good character and needed his licence for work, (He's a plumbing/gas engineer) who travels all over the country. But this seemed to make no difference. The upshot is he got a 16 month ban, no drink awareness course offered, a £220 fine and told he would have to retake his test when his ban was up. I feel being so young and inexperienced in these matters, he did need the duty solicitor representation in court.
My questions are - 1/ does his sentance seem harsh for 1st offence
2/ are there any rights of appeal againt the sentance
3/ Based on the sentance given, do you think he has
a case for appeal
4/ What are the likely costs for making an appeal

Thank you for your time and any advise given

regards
Tony.:confused:
 
My son went to court today on a drink driving charge having been caught with 57mg in 100mg of breath. He is 18 years old with no previous convictions for anything. He passed his test 5months ago. When we arrived at court we spoke to the duty solicitor, he told us that it was a straightforward case, so would not need representing in court. He said he would recieve a 12 month ban, but be offered a drink awareness course to reduce it to 9 months. The fine would be dependant on his income. We asked if he would have to retake his test, to which the duty solicitor said no that would not be a condition.
He went into court and was abit overawed by the whole thing and didn't know what he was expected to say or do. He had a letter of mitigation from his boss stating he is of good character and needed his licence for work, (He's a plumbing/gas engineer) who travels all over the country. But this seemed to make no difference. The upshot is he got a 16 month ban, no drink awareness course offered, a £220 fine and told he would have to retake his test when his ban was up. I feel being so young and inexperienced in these matters, he did need the duty solicitor representation in court.
My questions are - 1/ does his sentance seem harsh for 1st offence
2/ are there any rights of appeal againt the sentance
3/ Based on the sentance given, do you think he has
a case for appeal
4/ What are the likely costs for making an appeal

Thank you for your time and any advise given

regards
Tony.:confused:

While duty solicitors sometimes provide a great service to those that are unable to afford a specialist motoring / road traffic law solicitor and for those that dont qualify for legal aid, as this case shows, the level of service received and their experience and judgement is not always of the standard you would receive off a solicitor you chose to represent you independently.

This sentence does seem a bit harsh. The fact that the magistrates ordered your son to take a re-test will be due to his obvious lack of driving experience and the fact he had only been past his test 5 months, the majority of first time offenders are usually given the opportunity to complete the drink driving rehabilitation course.

Im sure Sean will offer some advice with regards to the possibility of appealing against this sentence.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the help, after further discussions with people who have had similar cases but not been treated so harsh. We have decided we will be appealing his sentance. Could do with some advice on the appeal process, the likely costs involved and get he get legal aid for a motoring offence, there seems to be some confusion over this matter!
regards
Tony.:confused:
 
There is a right to appeal against sentences providing that this is within 21 days of the sentence being imposed, which it is.

If your son wanted us to represent him on appeal it would be on a privately paying basis. If he wanted to discuss fees with us then he is advised to contact us directly as we are unable to put fee information on the website.

Please feel free to look at the guidance on our website in relation to appeals against sentence. http://www.stephensons.co.uk/site/services/individuals/srvmotoring/appeal_against_sentence/
 
Enter code DRINKDRIVING10 during checkout for 10% off
Top