Drink driving in Northern Ireland

Convicted Driver Insurance

Amy82

New Member
I stupidly have been caught drink driving and due to appear in court soon. I blew 65. I am in a profession and wonder if I will get struck off? Also its my first conviction anyone know what the outcome in court might be?
 
I found another post from someone in Northern Ireland and they blew 90 and got a year ban? Has it changed? I'm in social care I don't need my car in work but they ask for a driving license to be on file
 
Amy82 said:
I stupidly have been caught drink driving and due to appear in court soon. I blew 65. I am in a profession and wonder if I will get struck off? Also its my first conviction anyone know what the outcome in court might be?
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The (most of) U.K. guidelines for a sliding scale of ban according to your reading do not apply in Northern Ireland.
Many people do just get the 12 month ban, unless they were involved in an accident with injuries.
The payback for this is that everyone convicted in Northern Ireland is required to resit their test, so just get a provisional licence.... and they cannot apply until their ban is up, rather than 56/90 days early in the rest of the U.K.
 
price1367 said:
The (most of) U.K. guidelines for a sliding scale of ban according to your reading do not apply in Northern Ireland.
Many people do just get the 12 month ban, unless they were involved in an accident with injuries.
The payback for this is that everyone convicted in Northern Ireland is required to resit their test, so just get a provisional licence.... and they cannot apply until their ban is up, rather than 56/90 days early in the rest of the U.K.
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This is very helpful thank you, do you go back to being a restrictive driver again after you pass again do you know?
 
I am not certain.... best to enquire with:

Driver Vehicle Agency
County Hall
Castlerock Road
Waterside
Coleraine
BT51 3HS
Phone: 0300 200 7861 / (44) 28 9049 5914 (international) / 028 9067 5914(geographical)
Email: dva@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk
 
Amy82 said:
This is very helpful thank you, do you go back to being a restrictive driver again after you pass again do you know?
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No you won't be a restricted driver again, you do not have to display R plates after a re-testing. Also the only guideline there is for Northern Ireland is that you are to be banned for a minimum of 12 months. At the drink driving awareness course the lowest reading was 43 and the highest was 128 with a few of us having been involved in collisions and we all received 12 month bans reduced to 9 months for having completed the DD awareness course. We were all sentenced in either Newry or Armagh court for the 12 month bans, I have heard of Belfast court giving 18 month bans for high readings but with 65 I would expect 12 months. I blew 93 and got 12 months reduced to 9.

In regards to being struck off, I would tell your employer about your pending conviction sooner rather than later. Many jobs set out in the code of conduct that it is a disciplinary offence to not disclose ongoing criminal proceedings or a conviction. You would be surprised how many people are convicted of DD, you may find that it has no bearing on your job at all.
 
grice96 said:
No you won't be a restricted driver again, you do not have to display R plates after a re-testing. Also the only guideline there is for Northern Ireland is that you are to be banned for a minimum of 12 months. At the drink driving awareness course the lowest reading was 43 and the highest was 128 with a few of us having been involved in collisions and we all received 12 month bans reduced to 9 months for having completed the DD awareness course. We were all sentenced in either Newry or Armagh court for the 12 month bans, I have heard of Belfast court giving 18 month bans for high readings but with 65 I would expect 12 months. I blew 93 and got 12 months reduced to 9.

In regards to being struck off, I would tell your employer about your pending conviction sooner rather than later. Many jobs set out in the code of conduct that it is a disciplinary offence to not disclose ongoing criminal proceedings or a conviction. You would be surprised how many people are convicted of DD, you may find that it has no bearing on your job at all.
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Thanks for all your help. I'm am disgusted at myself but this info has helped relieve some of the anxiety around it
 
You made a mistake Amy, the best thing you can do is learn from this and put measures in place to ensure it never happens again.

If you have any more questions please feel free to ask, I have just been through the whole process in NI and will be more than happy to answer them to the best of my ability.
 
Amy82 said:
I stupidly have been caught drink driving and due to appear in court soon. I blew 65. I am in a profession and wonder if I will get struck off? Also its my first conviction anyone know what the outcome in court might be?
Click to expand...

The minimum disqualification in Northern Ireland is 12 months, reduced to 9 months if you complete the drink driving awareness course, a fine around £300 and you will have to resist both your theory and practical driving test. Tell your employer, you legally have to as it's part of your contract. If you belong to a professional body you also need to inform them. You made a mistake, I did too and that was the outcome of my court case and I crashed my car.
 
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