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9 Month Ban For Drink Driving Client

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Drink Driving Representation – The Support You Need

 

Forrest Williams were very proud to recently represent a man charged with drink driving.

 

Mr Able was a retired professional who had never had any dealings with the legal system, and was mortified to be stopped by police after driving a short distance. He gave a breath sample of 45, meaning he fell to be disqualified for 12-16 months.

 

Mr Able was an absolute gentleman throughout the preparation of his case, thanking our team profusely for everything done on his case and even worrying that his appearance in court may bring his former profession into disrepute.

 

Mr Able was incredibly anxious about having to appear in court, and having a skilled barrister attend with him to guide him through that process, and to speak on his behalf, was a very worthwhile investment for him to make.

 

It was an absolute pleasure to assist Mr Able, who knew he would be disqualified but wanted to be supported through the process.

 

We were able to build a mitigation case for Mr Able, and he was represented in court by one of our expert barristers.

 

He was delighted to be given the minimum ban possible, of 12 months, with the drink driving rehabilitation course offered to reduce the ban to just 9 months, meaning Mr Able will be back on the road before Christmas.

 

At the end of his case, a very relieved and appreciative Mr Able told us:

 

Thank you all for your help. You have relaxed me and helped me and even turned this into an uplifting experience – I felt like an outcast until I spoke to you; you stopped me feeling that way about myself.

 

If you are facing a drink driving charge and would like experts on your side who see you as the person you are, not just a number, call us now on 01623 397200.

Breath Tests and Breath Test Failures By Time

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Reported breath tests and breath test failures of drivers and riders by day and time, Great Britain, 2013

 

Statistics have been released by the Department of Transport which relate to: (1) all types of motor vehicles in Great Britain involved in accidents; (2) numbers of drivers/riders required to take breath tests; and (3) number of failed test/refusals to provide a specimen.

 

Interestingly with these statistics, breakdowns are given regarding the days and the times when the three types of data indicated above were collected.

 

For example, from a total of 232,709 drivers/riders involved in traffic accidents, the highest figure (21,668) indicates that most accidents occurred at 5pm. Conversely, the lowest figure (1,143) indicates that the least accidents occurred at 4am.

 

However, it should be noted that although there is a peak in the figures at 5pm, numbers exceed 10,000 from 7am throughout the day, then fall steadily from 8pm onwards.

 

Although, according to the statistics, drivers and riders were more likely to be involved in a traffic accident on a Friday (39,392), there is not a lot of difference between the figures for the other week days – the range being just 2,508.

 

There is, however, a noticeable difference in the figures for Saturday (29,894) and Sunday (24,317), during which days less traffic accidents occurred.

 

Of those drivers and riders required to take a breath test (123,956 in total), most of these requests were made on a Friday (21,091) and most of these between the hours of 8am and 7pm, with the greatest number of requests at 4pm (1,958) and 5pm (1,967).

 

The least number of requests for breath samples were made on a Sunday (13,514) and, on that day, between 4am and 6am (all figures less than 200).

 

Of all the drivers and riders who failed a breath test, or refused to provide a specimen of breath (3,727 in total), most of these failures/refusals took place on Saturday and Sunday (881 and 890 respectively), and on both these days there are clusters of higher figures between the hours of midnight and 3am.

 

The lower figures for failures/refusals were on Wednesdays (290), and particularly between the hours of 4am and 12noon.

 

Although it may be tempting to draw ‘common sense’ conclusions from these statistics, it should be noted that other factors should be taken into consideration when interpreting such data. For instance, in some cases people are charged with failure to provide a specimen of breath for analysis when, in fact, they have a medical condition (such as asthma) which means that they tried their best but could not comply with the police officer’s request. Or, as we at Forrest Williams have seen happen, a person can be charged with this offence when they were so anxious that they were unable to give the two evidential breath samples required by law.  

 

If you are being charged with a drink driving offence, call our expert team now on 01623 397200.

 

 

 

Breath Tests and Breath Test Failures – 2003-2013

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Breath tests and breath test failures by drivers and riders involved in reported accidents, 2003-2013

 

Department for Transport statistics for the 10 year period from 2003 to 2013 indicate that the number of breath tests and breath test failures by drivers and riders involved in reported accidents has dropped significantly.

 

In 2003, for example, a total of 374,278 drivers and riders were involved in (reported) accidents whereas in 2013 this number was 232,709 – a decrease of almost 38%.

 

Of these drivers and riders, 50% were breath tested in 2003 whilst 53% were breath tested in 2013.

 

Those who failed the breath test made up just over 2% of the drivers and riders tested in 2003 and just under 2% in 2013.

 

The statistics also give a breakdown by whether a person was a car driver, a motorcycle rider, or driving another sort of vehicle.

 

Of the total drivers and riders involved in (reported) accidents, the percentage breakdown for 2003 was as follows: car drivers at 80%, motorcycle riders at 8% and drivers of other vehicles at 12%.

 

The same breakdown for 2013 is interesting as, give or take less than 1%, each category remains the same.

 

In summary, whilst the breath testing of those drivers and riders involved in (reported) accidents would appear to remain constant over the 10 year period, at around 50%, very few actually failed the test – then and now.

 

So, although the public perception may lean towards the demonising of drink drivers as the cause of far too many road accidents, taking the Department for Transport’s statistics into consideration is important. It is clear from these figures that other factors need to be taken into consideration when assessing why accidents are taking place on our roads.

 

That less road accidents are now being reported, and investigated, is good news for all drivers/riders and their passengers – whatever the cause.

 

If you have been charged with a drink driving offence, call our expert team now on 01623 397200.

Case Study: Drink Driving Client Avoids Community Order

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DRINK DRIVING CLIENT AVOIDS COMMUNITY ORDER

 

Following a recent hearing in Derby Magistrates’ Court, client Maria de Silva told her barrister that she was delighted with her unexpected result.

 

In her discussions with Forrest Williams prior to the hearing for her drink driving offence, Maria had been made well aware that with a breath-alcohol reading of 105mg (which is within the third category), she faced a community order instead of a fine plus the mandatory disqualification from driving.

 

Whilst Maria had accepted the fact that she would be disqualified for at least 23 months, she was very concerned about being ordered to do unpaid work within the community. This is because Maria was about to start a new job which involved shift work and irregular hours, as well as relocating across the country for the duration of an induction/training period.

 

As this was a first drink driving offence, and Maria could demonstrate to the court that she is of good character and holding down a professional job, her barrister was able to mitigate assertively on her behalf.

 

Forrest Williams are pleased to be able to report that Maria was, through the thorough preparation of her case and the professional skills of her barrister, able to avoid the community order she had been dreading. Instead, she was ordered to pay a fine, together with other costs, and disqualified for a period of 24 months. Maria was also offered a place on the drink drive rehabilitation course, the completion of which will reduce her disqualification period by 25% – getting her back on the road in just 18 months.

 

Maria also had something else to be happy about. The fact that a community order was avoided meant that she did not need to return to court for a second (sentencing) hearing after meeting with Probation Services, thus avoiding further fees.

 

Maria said she would be happy to recommend Forrest Williams to anyone charged with a motoring offence and that she had felt fully supported by both her case handler and her barrister throughout a very stressful time.

 

If you are facing a drink driving charge, contact us now for expert legal advice on 01623 397200.

Drink Driving Accidents and Casualties – 1979 to 2013

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DRINK DRIVE ACCIDENTS AND CASUALTIES – 1979 TO 2013

 

Government estimates for reported drink driving accidents and casualties over the 34 year period from 1979 to 2013 may be surprising, and challenge expectations.

 

In today’s modern society with its powerful vehicles, and in a country where reporting of binge drinking and alcoholism is commonplace, one might expect the figures for drink driving accidents and casualties to have risen dramatically over time.

 

However, Department for Transport statistics show the opposite to be true.

 

In 1979, there were 19,470 reported drink driving accidents with a total of 31,430 casualties. Of these casualties, 1,640 people were killed.

 

A decade later, in 1989, there were 14,390 reported drink driving accidents with a total of 22,220 casualties. 810 of these people were killed.

 

In 1999, there were 11,050 reported drink driving accidents with a total of 16,910 casualties. Of these casualties, 460 were killed.

 

More recently, in 2013, there were 5,710 reported drink driving accidents with a total of 8,290 casualties. 260 of these people were killed.

 

So, in the 34 years between the earliest and most recent Department of Transport statistics, there has been a decrease of just over 70% in reported drink driving accidents, a decrease of just over 73% in casualties and a decrease in those killed of just over 84%.

 

These figures would appear to fly in the face of our perception of drink driving accidents and casualties as being a growing problem, particular to the times we live in. In fact, accidents and casualties have decreased dramatically, something which can only be good news for everyone.

 

If you are charged with a drink driving offence, please contact our expert team on 01623 397200.

 

Nurse Caught Drink Driving On Way To Work

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A nurse on her way to work at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in 2012 was caught drink driving after her car collided with another.  She was disqualified from driving for two years and the Nursery and Midwifery Council launched an investigation, finding her fitness to practice impaired.  They imposed a two-year order against her as they felt the case was so serious: the nurse was found to have a reading of 120mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.  The legal limit is 35mg.

Read the full drink driving story.

Southampton Magistrates Court Drink Driving Case

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A Southampton man has been charged with drink driving and is due to appear at Southampton Magistrates Court after crashing his car into a lamp post.

The 34-year-old man was on the outskirts of Romsey when the incident occurred.

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Drink Driving Blood Procedure. Doctors Error Leads to Not Guilty Verdict

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We were contacted last week by a woman who had been charged with drink driving, her trial was 2 days later.

Our client was surprised that her reading was so high and called us to see if there was anything we could do to help.

She told us that the machine at the police station was not working so the police called the doctor to take blood.

After a few questions it became clear that the doctor had not done the procedure correctly.

Our client told us that she specifically remembered the doctor taking blood from one arm and then because he could not get much blood he tried the other arm.

This was completely wrong and gave our client a cast iron defence.

At court the doctor gave evidence. He had been a police doctor for 35 years. He could not remember whether he took 1 or 2 lots of blood but it didn’t matter anyway because he could take more than 1 specimen and mix them together.

Wrong.

The court agreed (they had no choice the law is clear). They threw the case out and ordered that our clients costs be repaid.

The blood must be from 1 attempt, even if there is only a tiny amount from the first attempt it is invalid and makes the sample inadmissible.

 

Filed Under: Blog  

Motoring lawyer explains why the pain of penalties may linger longer for some drivers.

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As usual England were knocked out on penalties last night. Having gone to extra time there was an extra 40 minutes drinking time. Most people are sensible and don’t drive to the pub if they know they are going to be drinking.

But it’s not as simple as that. A lot of drivers are being charged with drink driving because they drove the following morning whilst still over the limit.

Everyone eliminates alcohol at a different rate, our scientific expert says that the most likely elimination rate is 8ug% per hour. The limit is 35ug%.

A pint of beer is around 15ug%, if you have 7 pints you would have a reading of around 105ug% depending on various factors. That means it would take up to 9 hours before you are below the legal limit, if you are an early starter that could cause problems. Particularly if you stayed on in the pub to drown your sorrows.

Can You Argue Special Reasons to Avoid a Disqualification?

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Interesting case today. Client has been charged with drink driving, he accepts that he was over the limit and was stopped whilst in his car but wants to argue that there are special reasons not to disqualify him. The special reason is that he only drove a very short distance.

I hear this often, about 2 or 3 calls every day are from someone saying that they had only driven a very short distance. It normally turns out that that short distance is about half a mile. This is far too far, the courts have said in the past that even 400 yards can be too far. You have to show that there was no risk of coming into contact with other road users.

My client had been out to a pub, popped back to his car to get his phone. His car had been parked up in the pub car park and he was intending to get a taxi home. As he got in the car he saw that the window was icing up. With the snow and ice he was concerned that he would not be able to get the car out in the morning as it was facing up a slight incline in the pub car park. He decided that he would turn the car around to face the other way to make it easier to move it in the morning.

He was stopped as he was moving it, the police were called and he was arrested. He had moved it 5 foot.

The important thing that we had to show was that he did not intend to go much further and that there was little possibility that he would come into contact with any road users.

The matter has been adjourned for a special reasons hearing in 2 months time, in the meantime he will be able to drive and the court will decide at the hearing whether this is sufficient for special reasons.

**Steve Williams is the Motoring Solicitor, these diaries are based on true case, details, including the court have been changed in order to protect the clients confidentiality. Not all of Steve Williams’ cases are reported in the diary.

If you would like free, impartial advice from Steve Williams call now 01623 397200