Drink Drive Solicitors UK

Defending Your Licence

01623 397200

Navigation

Aggravating Factors in a Drink Driving Case

by

A Nottinghamshire ambulance driver was yesterday found guilty of drink driving and sentenced to 200 hours unpaid work and banned from driving for 2 years.

He was 2 1/2 times over the limit and was involved in a 7 vehicle crash on the A52.

There are a number of aggravating features that the court will have taken into account in this case.

The court has sentencing guidelines that they follow and things such as being involved in a crash, working as a public servant at the time and the high reading are all things that they will consider makes the case more serious.

For the sentencing guidelines click here

Call us any time on 01623 397200  for free initial advice

 

 

Drivers Believe Risk of Being Caught Drink Driving is Low

by

In a survey released yesterday over half (53 per cent) of drivers surveyed think there is a one in four chance of being caught and almost a third (31 per cent) think there is less than a one in ten chance.

Figures also show that in 2009 only 2% of drivers were given road side breath tests.

Does this mean that drivers are taking chances and driving when over the limit?

We rarely get clients who have deliberately driven whilst over the limit. The majority have miscalculated the amount they have had or have driven the following morning believing that they were under the limit.

Regardless of the circumstances a ban cannot be avoided for drink driving unless some very specific conditions apply.

 

For details see – Special Reasons to avoid being disqualified for drink driving.

Call us on 01623 397200 at any time for free, specialist advice.

Nottinghamshire Police Cracking Down on Summer Drink Driving

by

Nottinghamshire police have launched a crack down on summer drink driving.

Statistics show that more people are caught drink driving during the summer than at any other time.

Quite apart from the obvious risk to yourself and other people the punishment for drink driving is very harsh. The courts have to ban you for a minimum of 12 months, even if you are only a little way over the limit.

The length of the ban will increase depending on the level of alcohol as well as other factors such as whether you had passengers in the car, the time of day and the manner of the driving.

Whilst the court have to ban you they can be persuaded to reduce that ban to a minimum and to offer you a course which would reduce it by 25%.

It is important that you have assistance from a specialist drink driving solicitor who can really make a difference to the level of the ban.

In some circumstances there may even be a defence.

Call us on 01623 397200 at any time for free, specialist advice.

Over the Limit from the Night Before

by

I appeared in Derby Magistrates recently with a client who had been caught drink driving. He was stopped on the way to dropping his daughter off at school and was still over the limit from the night before.

Many people don’t realise how long it takes for the alcohol to leave your system and a heavy nights drinking can leave you over the limit the following day.

The punishment is just the same, the courts have to disqualify you for a minimum of 12 months. They will often disqualify you for longer because there are a number of factors that make it more serious such as it being a busy time of day and having passengers in the car.

In this case I was able to persuade the court to be lenient in terms of the length of sentence.

If you find yourself in a similar situation it is important that you get advice from a specialist lawyer. Call us any time on 01623 397200 for free initial advice.

Drink Drive Solicitor at Leicester Magistrates Court

by

As a specialist drink drive solicitor I come across a lot of clients who are desperate to keep their licence. My job is to find a way to keep them on the road.

There are a number of ways we can do this, sometimes there is a defence. If we can’t find a defence then we look to see if there are any special reasons that we can use to avoid disqualification.

Recently at Leicester Magistrates my client had been charged with drink driving. He asked me to attend to try and keep the ban to a minimum. I went through the papers with him and it looked like the police had made a mistake with the procedure. I advised him that he should plead not guilty.

We went into to court and I explained the defence to the prosecutor who agreed that the police had made a mistake. She suggested that we adjourn the matter and she would check with the police to see if they had conducted the procedure as it appeared they had.

2 weeks later the CPS wrote to us saying they were dropping the case against my client.

The court agreed to refund my client’s reasonable costs so a great result all round for him.

Call Steve Williams on 01623 397200 for a free initial assessment of your case.

Specialist Drink Driving Solicitors Covering Chesterfield Magistrates Court

by

We are the only specialist drink driving solicitors covering Chesterfield Magistrates Court. It is a small court and all of the solicitors are Legal Aid solicitors covering all sorts of crime.

When a client is desperate to keep their licence they tend to look for a specialist drink drive lawyer.

We are local to Chesterfield and well known there. We are confident that we will get results for our clients based on our 20 years of experience and specialism in drink driving defences.

Because we have an vast knowledge of the intricate laws of drink driving we are often able to find a defence which will mean you keep your licence. If we cannot find a defence then we will be able to present your case in a way that will persuade the court to impose the shortest ban they think is appropriate in the circumstances.

Only you know whether it is worth it to employ a specialist drink drive solicitor, if it is important to you to keep on the road or to get back driving as soon as possible then you should employ a specialist.

Call Steve Williams on 01623 397200 for a free initial assessment of your case.

Pot Luck or Expertise?

by

Clients have a choice, they can take pot luck with the duty solicitor, get a legal aid lawyer to deal with it (provided the family earn less than £23,000 a year AND there is a risk of going to prison) or appoint a specialist drink drive solicitor.

I am often asked ‘is it worth me having a specialist drink driving solicitor at court’. My response is always ‘only you can answer that, only you know how important your licence is to you’.

Would it make a difference if we found a way to keep your licence? Even if we couldn’t keep your licence would it make a difference if we could persuade the court to reduce the ban by a few months? What difference would it make to you if you could drive and get back to work a few months earlier?

I have sat in court listening to cases before mine has been called on, I have sometimes heard the duty solicitor represent 3 clients on drink driving matters before mine is called on. After the client has asked ‘how come mine ban was lower than theirs even though my reading was higher?’

Apart from the fact that we are specialists in this sort of case the difference is often the preparation. The duty solicitor will have arrived at court by 9:30, been given a list of up to 10 people wanting advice and then had to sift through those, read the prosecution papers for them all, take instructions, advised whether to plead guilty, checked the sentencing guidelines, filled in the clients means forms and then be ready to represent the clients in court. In fairness it’s no wonder they miss things.

As I sit in the interview room with my client I see a steady flow of customers queueing up to see the duty solicitor. I will have already spent at least an hour with my client on the phone going through the matter. I normally do this in the evenings when the client can relax at home and make sure they cover everything they want the court to know. We then arrive at court early, go through the papers in our own time. When we are ready we will go into court ready to present the best case for the client. Sometimes we are in before the harassed duty solicitor, sometimes behind her, but always fully prepared.

If you want your case to be fully prepared and presented to the court call me on 01623 397200 for free initial assessment of your case.

Drink Driving Solicitor Appearance in 110 Courts

by

As of 24 June 2011 & starting with Nottingham Magistrates, Worksop Magistrates, Leicester Magistrates  and Mansfield Magistrates the number of courts I have represented motorists in has now exceeded 100.

Last week saw me appearing in Camberwell Green and Oxford Magistrates Courts, which makes two more courts I have now appeared in. That takes the total to 110 not counting those in Germany and Cyprus representing members of Her Majesty’s Armed Services.

 

Sheffield Drink Driving Solicitor Keeps Driver on the Road

by

I was at Sheffield Magistrates Court last week. My client was charged with drink driving.

The police had attended her house after a report from a member of the public. On arrival they breathalysed her and she was over the limit. She explained to the police that she had had a slight accident, had come home feeling shook up and drank a large Vodka.

The question for the court was ‘was she over the limit at the time of driving?’

Our expert provided a report to the court that stated that at the time of driving she would not have been over the limit, the court accepted her evidence and my cross examination of the police officer and she was found not guilty.

This had been a very worrying time for her, thankfully it ended well and the court ordered that her legal costs were to be refunded.

If ever you find yourself charged with drink driving, don’t spend time worrying about it, call us on 01623 397200 and we will explain your options and can represent you at court

Innocent Motorists to be Penalised by Government Proposals

by

I have represented many clients who have been found not guilty, the court always order that their legal costs are refunded. This is of course only fair, they have been falsely accused of something so why should they be out of pocket for defending their name?

This is about to change if the Government get their way, they want to limit the amount that the client can reclaim to legal aid rates.

I remember a recent case that I felt very strongly about, a woman was accused of drink driving. Because of health problems she was unable to properly provide a specimen of breath. She did manage one sample which showed she was below the limit, however despite trying as hard as she could she was not able to provide the second sample, she was charged with failing to provide a sample and faced losing her licence and livelihood. All this despite clear evidence she had not been drink driving. She managed to raise the money to be represented by a specialist and thankfully she won and the money that she had borrowed was paid back to her. Under the new proposals she would have received less than half of her money back.

Many people charged with motoring offences are innocent, taking on the legal system can be a scary prospect but they are safe in the knowledge that their costs will be refunded when they win.

It’s right of course that the government should not provide an open cheque book for falsely accused defendants. The current system works well, any bill presented has to be supported by a full breakdown of the work done, this is assessed by government officials and they only pay what they feel is reasonable. To reduce the rate to legal Aid rates means that a lot of innocent people will be unfairly punished. Legal Aid is designed for the high volume lawyers, doing 10 to 15 cases a day, even those legal aid lawyers who provide a high volume, are struggling to survive at legal aid rates.

Those falsely accused deserve to have a Roll Royce service with no stone left unturned to prove their innocence, they should not have to take half measures, worried about costs.

We support this petition to make the government re think this unfair proposal, feel free to add your signature to it – http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/5322