Incident 1
Brief Description of Offence:
Drank a bottle of vodka and went to my bed. Woke up at some point during the night and drove to the local supermarket to get food (seemingly during a blackout as I can't remember any of that part). Crashed my car in the carpark and was found at the wheel by an off-duty police officer who happened to be a friend of my brother (who is also a cop)
Blood Alcohol Level and Reading Type:
Breath - 129
Mitigating Factors:
Clean driving record, no criminal convictions, professional job, full co-operation with police, was due to start my training as a police officer within a few weeks of the accident (job offer obviously went away after that)
Aggravating Factors:
N/A
Legal Representation at Court?:
Yes - duty solicitor
Sentence:
2 years (reduced to 20 months if I completed a rehabilitation course), £600 fine
Offered the Drink Driving Rehabilitation Course?:
Yes, but I didn't attend the course as I was an alcoholic and was still drinking at the time.
Sentence Comments:
I hoped I might have gotten a year or 18 months, but the reading was very high so I couldn't really complain.
Incident 2
Brief Description of Offence:
Had one large vodka mid afternoon on my day off and decided to drive to the local shop for more drink before I drank any more. My MOT had elapsed by 2 days (which I didn't realise) and I was stopped by a police traffic car about 50 yards from my front door on the way back from the shop.
Blood Alcohol Level and Reading Type:
Breath - 33 (unlike in England, the legal limit in Scotland is 22)
Mitigating Factors:
Full cooperation with police, reading was low and would've been considered under the limit had I been stopped a year or so earlier before they lowered it. I had also started attending AA meetings after the incident but before the court date, so I was trying to do something about my alcoholism.
Aggravating Factors:
Second offence inside 10 years
Legal Representation at Court?:
Yes - duty solicitor
Sentence:
3 years, £500 fine
Offered the Drink Driving Rehabilitation Course?:
No. Solicitor told me that asking for a rehab course would piss off that particular judge and may lead to a longer sentence.
Sentence Comments:
Can't complain. Judge told me he was giving me just about the lowest possible sentence, which I didn't argue with.
Worth saying that things are now completely different for me. I've achieved sobriety after many years of self destruction and denial. I've been sober for more than 2 and a half years and got my 1 year licence back yesterday. Hopefully this is the start of a new chapter and I can close the book on the last decade, which quite frankly has been shite.