Archive for the ‘Drink driving’ Category

Will I get Legal Aid for drink Driving?

Posted on: June 13th, 2010 by motoringlawyers

A topical issue, police have been issuing warnings about drink driving during the World Cup. Despite this people will still get caught, often in my experience, because they tried to judge the amount they could drink and got it wrong. The only advice can ever be – don’t try and guess, get a taxi.

A conviction for drink driving can have devastating effects, often leading to loss of a job, loss of homes and breakdown of relationships. If you are caught drink driving and there is no defence you will get banned.

So do you need a lawyer? Even if you are pleading guilty a good Drink driving lawyer can help reduce the length of the ban and this can make a big difference to someone who needs to get back to work as soon as possible.

What if you can’t afford a drink driving lawyer? You are entitled to ask for the duty solicitor who can represent you at court. You might get lucky and get a good one but there is no guarantee. Some duty solicitors have been qualified for years, some just a year. Most legal aid lawyers are overworked and underpaid. The duty solicitor on the day may be acting for 10 other people including drug addicts up for their weekly court appearance. Frankly the druggy is more important to the legal aid lawyer, you are not going to be a repeat client but the lawyer may get a client for life in the druggy. So you may not get much personal attention in the 15 minutes between the duty solicitor getting the papers and being called into court.

You can of course arrange a lawyer before the day and they can apply for legal aid for you.

In order to qualify for legal aid you need to show 2 things, firstly that the case is one that needs a solicitor (this is called the interest of justice test). You are only likely to pass this test if there is a risk of prison or it is complex.

The second test is the financial test. You have to show that you cannot afford a solicitor. The court use a complex formula for working this out – this link helps you calculate whether you will qualify. //www.legalservices.gov.uk/criminal/getting_legal_aid/initial_means_test.asp

If you do not qualify for legal aid you may feel that it is worth investing in a specialist drink driving solicitor – for less than a month’s wages you gain quality drink driving legal advice andbe represented in court with the lawyer persuading the court to reduce the length of the ban.

For free initial specialist drink driving advice call 01623 397200 or click here Drink Driving Solicitor

Caught drink driving, what will happen?

Posted on: May 31st, 2010 by motoringlawyers

If you are caught drink driving the first thing to realise is that the court has to disqualify you from driving for a minimum of 12 months. They have no discretion.

Don’t listen to the guy in the pub who tells you that he knew someone who avoided a ban for drink driving because it would have meant losing his job. IT’S NOT TRUE. Rather than listening to the bar room lawyer take advice from a specialist motoring solicitor. There is no way to avoid a ban for drink driving on the grounds that you will lose your job or any other consequences, this is regardless of how little you were over the limit.

There are ways to avoid a disqualification for drink driving, these are called special reasons and relate to things such as shortness of distance driven or where you can show that your drinks were spiked with alcohol.

So how long will you be banned for drink driving? That depends on the level of your reading. Assuming that there is nothing that makes the matter more serious such as a crash then the table below shows you what to expect. This is taken from the book that the magistrates will use in court when deciding upon sentence.

Remember these are only guidelines , a good specialist motoring solicitor may be able to reduce the drink driving ban by a couple of months or more. You may feel that it is worth investing in the services of a specialist motoring lawyer, especially if it means losing your job; being able to get back to work 2 months earlier may make a big difference.

Contact Steve Williams on 01623 397200 for free initial advice or click Drink Driving Solicitors for more advice

When can the police stop you for drink driving?

Posted on: May 18th, 2010 by motoringlawyers

Getting advice down the pub (especially for drink driving!) is not a good idea. There are a lot of myths about drink driving, take advice from a specialist drink driving solicitor to be sure of your rights.

The law says that the police cannot just stop you and insist that you give a breath test. The reality is that it is pretty easy for them to stop you at anytime to get a breath test.

There are 2 ways that the police can insist that you give a sample. Firstly by having reasonable grounds to believe that you have committed a moving traffic offence, for example speeding, going through a red light or crossing the white line in the middle of the road. Once they have that belief then they can stop you and ask you to give a breath test, if this is over the limit you will be arrested for drink driving.

The reality is that they don’t need to prove that you have driven badly. They are entitled to stop you at any time, for any reason. Once they have done that then if they suspect that you have been drinking they can ask you to provide a breath sample. The normal way that they suspect you have been drinking is by smelling alcohol on your breath.

Can you argue that they didn’t have reasonable grounds to insist on a breath test? Of course but realistically the police will simply say they smelt alcohol and it is likely that any court will accept this and find you guilty of drink driving.

I get a lot of people who have refused to give a breath test at the roadside or at the police station and argue that they are not guilty because they had not been drinking and can prove it. This doesn’t matter, once charged with failing to provide a specimen it is irrelevant as to whether you have been drinking, you are not charged with drink driving.

If you haven’t been drinking and are asked to give a sample, the advice is simple – give a sample. You can argue about civil liberties later but at least you will still have a licence.

Steve Williams is a specialist motoring solicitor dealing with drink driving, speeding and all other motoring offences, if you wish to seek advice call on 01623 397200 or click Drink Driving Solicitors

Motoring Advice Blog

Archive for the ‘Drink driving’ Category

Will I get Legal Aid for drink Driving?

Caught drink driving, what will happen?

When can the police stop you for drink driving?

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