Been to court today 24.9.20
Brief Description of Offence:
Had a few drinks with a family member. Ended up drinking alot of red wine and thinking I could drive home
Blood Alcohol Level and Reading Type:
122 in breath
Mitigating Factors:
Long clean driving licence, short distance driven (.7 miles), no other criminal convictions, early guilty plea, compliant with the police, stressed due to work and looking after poorly parent
Aggravating Factors:
Crashed into a stationary van, very high reading
Legal Representation at Court?:
Yes - although it transpired my Solicitor was the duty solicitor for the day. Felt a bit ripped off especially when we were disturbed so he could see another case (which was worse than mine). Solicitors costs £500.
Sentence:
26 month ban, 180 hours CS to be taken over 18 months, £85 court costs
Offered the Drink Driving Rehabilitation Course?:
Yea and will take the course. This will reduce my ban to 20 months.
Sentence Comments:
Happy with my sentence I was expecting a higher ban and a suspended sentence.
Arrived to court and was very nervous. Was told i would be facing the District Judge. I panicked at the thought of this but was told by my Solicitor and probation officer that it's much better to have the District Judge than a Magistrate. Went in and had the charges read then had to speak to the Probation Officer before sentancing. He was absolutley brilliant. Went through some options and it was deemed I didnt need an intervention or any other support.
I will never drink drive again. I am glad it is over and can draw a line under it. Happy to give advice to anyone going through this. I have been so stressed out but in all honesty all it wasnt as bad as I thought. This forum has been really helpful to me and felt I really needed to document this.