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.
Southampton Magistrates Court Drink Driving Case
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.
CHARGED WITH A DRINK DRIVING OFFENCE?
INITIAL ADVICE ALWAYS FREE: 01623 397200
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.
Over the Limit from the Night Before
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
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
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.
Reducing the Ban – Our Proven Expertise
The most common sort of case that we get asked to advise on is where someone is charged with drink driving and wants to keep the ban as low as possible.
We have a very good track record for keeping drink driving bans low.
We are often asked by clients and other solicitors what you should say to get the ban for drink driving reduced.
The first thing to realise is that it is as important what you don’t say as what you do say. We have sat though a lot of other cases that seem to be going well only for it all fall apart by one comment. We see it in the faces of the magistrates and often they repeat that poorly chosen phrase back to the client when handing out a lengthy ban.
The court will have guidelines to follow but they are just that, guidelines. They can go up or down.
You need to differentiate your case from all the others that the court will hear that day. It is easy for the court to get into the groove of simply following the guidelines. Why should they treat you differently?
Try and find something about your case that makes it stand out from others. What is it that makes your case less serious than it seems? What explanation can you give that the court will identify with?
It is a thin line between giving an explanation and making excuses. The court will listen to an explanation as to why someone who has never been in trouble before suddenly finds themselves facing a very serious charge. If you make it sound like an excuse that’s where it can all start going wrong, especially if you try to blame someone else.
Set your mitigation out in three parts, deal with the offence first. Give the background to the offence. This is where sometimes too much can be said. If there is no explanation say that. Don’t try and find one. We have often said ‘our client cannot understand how he got into this situation, he cannot give any explanation for this behaviour which is so out of character’. That is better than trying to find explanations that will annoy the magistrates.
The second part of the mitigation is your personal background, tell the court all the good things about you. Make the court like you.
Finally tell the court what effect the ban will have on you and why you want it kept to a minimum. Careful that you do not come across as demanding a reduction, you need to realise that you have made a mistake and the court do not have to be lenient with you.
It is important that you do it in this order so the that last thing the court hear is about you and the effect the ban will have, not the details of the offence. It is a hard line to draw between getting the court on your side and antagonising them.
For expert help on keeping your ban to a minimum call us free on 01623 397200.
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
