Tracy Johnson of Forrest Williams
24 Month Ban For Drink Driving 106 in Breath
Tony Bryan appeared in Mansfield Magistrates’ Court and got a 24 month ban for drink driving 106 in breath.
Represented by Steve Williams, of Forrest Williams, Tony had been made aware that his breath reading of 106 meant that his penalties would be a disqualification within the range 23-28 months.
However, as Tony’s reading was in the third category, which meant the offence would be treated even more seriously by the court, he risked a community order instead of a fine. Tony’s case worker explained that he could be ordered to attend a course, be tagged, ordered to adhere to a curfew, or ordered to complete a certain number of hours of unpaid work within the community.
In addition, this higher reading may mean that Tony would have to meet with the Probation Services, who would interview him and write a report for court, with their recommendations as to what penalties be imposed. In practical terms, this could mean Tony would need to attend an interview and then a second, sentencing hearing.
Tony’s case worker, Tracy Johnson, assured him she and Steve would do all they could to avoid this happening. Although a disqualification was not what Tony would have wanted to happen, he accepted that this would be part of his punishment and wanted to be sentenced as quickly as possible, so he could move on with his life.
Tony explained to his case worker that he had established his own construction company four years ago, and that running his business without his driving licence would be extremely difficult.
He also informed his case worker that he had held his driving licence for 12 years, that he had never had any points on his licence and that he had never been disqualified for any reason. The drink driving offence, he explained, was out of character and had happened as a result of having drinks after work with a friend and then driving himself home.
Unfortunately, he said, he hit a kerb and this alerted a police patrol car. He was subsequently pulled over and breathalysed. When he failed the roadside test, he was taken back to the police station, breathalysed in the Intoxyliser Room and subsequently charged.
As Tony had no defence to the charge, he pleaded guilty. Steve Williams advanced mitigation on his behalf, which was considered by the District Judge. Taking into account Tony’s unblemished driving record when sentencing, the court’s ruling was that he be disqualified from driving for a period of 24 months, but that this be reduced to 18 months on completion of the drink drive rehabilitation course. In addition, a community order was avoided and, instead, Tony was ordered to pay a fine as well as other court costs. This meant that a meeting with Probation Services was avoided, as was a second hearing.
All things considered, this was a very good result for Tony and he thanked everyone who had worked hard on his case to help bring about this ‘better than it could have been’ outcome.
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