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.
Motoring lawyer explains why the pain of penalties may linger longer for some drivers.
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?
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
Aggravating Factors in a Drink Driving Case
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
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.
Sheffield Drink Driving Solicitor Keeps Driver on the Road
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
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
10 Things to Look for in a Drink Driving Solicitor
It can be scary being charged with drink driving, it has a devastating effect on people. Most people are represented by a solicitor and it is important to ensure that you get the right solicitor to represent you.
Most people charged with drink driving have never been to court before and do not know what to look for in a solicitor.
This guide will help you decide who should represent you.
1. Are they a solicitor? Some websites are run by non solicitors who will seek to advise you and then pass you on to a solicitor or barrister to represent you. Check that the website has the Solicitor Regulation Authority number on the website. It is a requirement for solicitors to put these details on the website, if they aren’t there then they probably aren’t solicitors.
2. Are they a specialist? Often a law firm will have a criminal department that will put up a website saying they specialise in Motoring matters. Does the website have links to other parts of the firm. Is motoring law just one of many things they do?
3. Are they happy to offer up front fixed fees? Or do they still work on the old hourly rate system so that you have no idea how much the bill will be when it arrives.
4. Do they offer real free advice? Some solicitors offer free initial advice but you have to register or pay a small fee. Free is free. How limited is the free initial advice. If it is ‘you need a lawyer’ it’s not really advice, check that it is an unlimited free first interview. Not everyone is the same and some people may need longer that others to explain their case. With us the clock is never ticking.
5. Are they available when you need them? It is not always easy to talk about these things at work in front of your colleagues. Will the solicitor talk to you after work or at the weekend when it suits you?
6. Are they being honest with you? Are their expectations realistic? Are they making promises that they may not be able to deliver? Are they telling you that they will get you off without revealing what the defence is? We will tell you if we think there is no defence. If a solicitor tells you they can get you off, ask what the defence is. If the answer is ‘we don’t know until we see the papers’ maybe there is no defence and they are being unrealistic and raising your hopes.
7. Are they able to tell you the likely outcome?
8. Do they know what they are talking about? How often do they appear in court? How long have they been doing it for. Do you want to risk your licence with a young solicitor learning as they go along?
9. Have they offered you any practical advice on how to reduce your disqualification?
10. Finally and most important do you feel at ease talking to them? If you aren’t comfortable working with them as a team then you shouldn’t commit yourself to them.
Don’t risk your licence, speak to a firm of solicitors that puts you first. Call us any time for free initial advice on 01623 397200
