Looking for Solicitors for Drink Drivers?
“Drink Drivers – they’re all the same. Go out, get drunk, no care for anyone else on the road….”
Sound familiar? We disagree.
At Forrest Williams, solicitors for drink drivers, we believe that Drink Driving is an offence, not a person. We know that for every person committing that offence there is a reason which led to them being in the car at that point in time having consumed alcohol. We firmly believe that it is not our job to judge you, we know that in the majority of cases you will be doing enough of that yourself. We know that for many people what they really want and need is someone to support them through a very difficult time in their life and to help them get the best possible outcome they can in the circumstances. We know that no two cases are the same and because of that we tailor our support to each individual client.
The only thing we don’t do is tailor our prices. We know the work involved in your case and the fee you will be quoted is the same whether you are a footballer earning thousands of pounds a week or a teacher, a nurse or a surgeon. We don’t ask your income before we give you our price so you can be sure that the price you pay is a fair one.
Let me tell you about a couple of our recent clients we have supported through their court cases (names have been changed to protect our clients’ privacy).
Luke
Luke was a 19 year old boy, due to appear in Beverley Magistrates Court last month. He was the designated driver for the evening so had his 2 pints of beer at the start of the evening (between 7:30-9:00pm) and then stopped and moved to non-alcoholic drinks. He knew he would not be driving for several hours so thought he would be fine. He started doing the rounds about midnight dropping his friends home. As he drove down a side street there were cars parked along both sides and it was a tight squeeze, he misjudged the manoeuvre and clipped one of the cars. The police were called and as a matter of procedure he was given a breath test – he failed. His reading was 40mg. At 39mg he would not have been charged.
We were appointed by Luke’s dad to help him through the court case. He accepted the offence and the charge, he just wanted someone with his son, and to explain what was going to happen and when. We were able to persuade the District Judge of Luke’s good character and that the accident should not be held against him when sentencing. Luke was sentenced to the absolute minimum disqualification the court could impose – 12 months, and they also offered him the opportunity to complete a course which would further reduce the disqualification down to just 9 months.
Both Luke and his parents were very pleased with this outcome and later instructed us to assist them with the resolution of the Insurance Claim relating to the accident.
James
James hadn’t planned on drinking that evening, in fact he wasn’t even going out. He was at home, having been at work all day and was intending to relax and watch a film. His girlfriend rang him and suggested they meet at a local pub, it was already after 9pm and it was raining heavily and he had work the following morning, so he had no intentions of it being a long night, just a quick drink before home and bed.
When he got to the pub James’s girlfriend had a pint waiting for him, she told him she had been cheating on him and then she left. He drank the pint and then had another. In his words he was in a bit of a daze. He left the pub and went to his car. He drove out of the car park and the short journey home. As he pulled up on his drive the officers walked across to him – someone in the pub had reported a drink-driver. He knew as soon as they asked him to give a sample that he would be over the limit, he just hadn’t for a second thought about it before then. His reading was 57mg in breath.
He was charged to appear in Birmingham Magistrates just 10 days later. We arranged for one of our expert Barristers to attend with him and made sure that we were able to show the court his good character. The judge was sympathetic to James’ position and that he would lose his job as a result of this offence and sentenced him to the minimum sentence possible of 12 months disqualification (guidelines for his reading would have suggested a disqualification of 16 months). He was also offered the course to reduce the disqualification further.
James was very pleased with the outcome and that through representation and getting his side of the story across, he had potentially saved himself 7 months off his ban!
Our clients are never drink drivers to us. Each client is their own self, with their own story about how they have ended up in this position.
At Forrest Williams we listen to your story, we make sure the courts see YOU and not just the offence. We work with you to get the best possible outcome for you.
If you are charged with an offence then give the Forrest Williams team a call on 01623 397200. We are specialist solicitors for drink drivers, and we are here to help.
