Drink Driving

If you have been accused of drink driving or charged with drink driving (DUI), You may be facing a drink driving ban – Criminal Defence Solicitors can assist you.

Drinking and driving (drink driving / DUI) is a serious driving offence. It carries a minimum 12 month ban. One way to avoid a drink driving ban is to dispute and defend the allegation against you.

Offence Codes: DR10, DR20, DR30, DR40, DR50, DR60, DR70

The legal limit for drink driving (DUI) is 35 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. However, the Police are unlikely to prosecute under 40 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

Possible Defences for Drink Driving Allegations or a DUI:

• Proving that you were not driving on a public road or in a public place
• Post driving consumption. Arguing that the alcohol that put you over the legal limit was consumed after you had stopped driving (also known as the hip flask defence).
• Proving that you were not driving.
• Denying that you were over the limit, suggesting that the police evidence is unreliable.

If you have been wrongly accused of drink-driving Criminal Defence Solicitors will be able to assist.

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Special reasons is not a defence; however, it might be possible to show that there were special reasons in a case and that the you should not be banned for drink driving or DUI.

Special reasons include:

• Where drinks were laced / spiked without your knowledge, and you were not aware that you were over the legal limit
• You had no choice but to drive because you were in an emergency situation
• You drove only a very short distance and no other drivers or pedestrians were at risk

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Offence Code: DR40

The drunk ‘in charge of a vehicle’ offence is usually when someone is caught sat in a car, with the keys, whilst over the limit. This sometimes happens when people decide to sleep in their car after a night out.

The ‘drunk in charge of a vehicle’ offence carries 10 points, and a possible discretionary ban. This allegation can be defended against if you can persuade the court that you had no intention of driving until your blood alcohol level had dropped below the legal limit.

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• Failure to supply a sample is an offence.
• Stopped the morning after drinking.
• In charge whilst over the limit after sleeping in your vehicle.
• Wrong individual accused – identity of the driver may be an issue in a case.
• Refusing a roadside breath tests.
• Using the shortness of distance defence – special reasons argument.
• Reducing the length of a driving ban – making an application to the Court to reduce the length of any driving ban.

If you have been wrongly accused of drink driving, Criminal Defence Solicitors can help.

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