DRINK DRIVING SENTENCES

Convicted Driver Insurance
Description of offence:
I was drinking cans of beer from the afternoon time until after 1am, decided in my infinite wisdom that I needed cigarettes so decided to go to the shop. Was involved in a collision with 2 bollards and a bus stop, part of my car broke off into the air and also hit a parked car about 8 metres from the crash.

Blood Alcohol Level and Reading Type:
Breath 91 ug

Mitigating Factors:
Clean criminal record, 2 driving convictions one for speeding in 2015 and the other for no insurance from 2016 (my mum asked her insurance broker to ensure I was on her insurance, was told I was and I foolishly never checked the insurance document and I was not, broker also didn't include her business insurance, safe to say we no longer use that broker) Was misusing alcohol at the time, have since sought help and no longer drink.

Aggravating Factors:
Collision as stated above.

Legal Representation at Court?:
Local Solicitor, phone call consultation was free and representation on the day was £110.

Sentence:
12 month ban reduced to 9 upon completion of drink driving awareness course, fine and court fees ordered to pay £215 (Lower sentencing brackets in NI)

Offered the Drink Driving Rehabilitation Course?:
Yes. Completed in December, very informative and reinforces that you aren't alone in this, 12 other people all from the local area facing the same punishment.

Sentence Comments:
Expected a higher sentence and fine and was very relieved with what I received. A very expensive lesson.
 
Brief Description of Offence:
Rolled my car in a 30mph street and managed to roll my car.

Breath Alcohol Level and Reading Type:

Breath - 113 at roadside, 110 in station (5x in Scotland).

Mitigating Factors:

Argument with a friend after a day of drinking, recent depression (but that's no excuse). Clean record: not even a speeding ticket to my name after 20 years of driving.

Aggravating Factors:
Rolled car

Legal Representation at Court?:
Duty solicitor

Sentence:

36 months ban, 190 payback order (reduced from 250 because I plead guilty). Sheriff said it was the alternative to a custodial sentence.

Offered the Drink Driving Rehabilitation Course?:
No
 
Brief Description of Offence:
Caught drinking in my car in a public car park by a parking attendant who called the police. I was arrested and breathalysed at the station
Blood Alcohol Level and Reading Type:
Breath 73ug

Mitigating Factors:
long clean driving record, no previous drink driving or criminal convictions, co-operation with the police, short distance driven

Aggravating Factors:
Minor argument with attendant

Legal Representation at Court?:
No. Pleaded guilty so no need. i requested the duty solicitor but prosecuter advised that I wouldn't really need one. It's best to prepare something to say in mitigation if you plead guilty.

Sentence:
£850 incl costs, 20 month ban

Offered the Drink Driving Rehabilitation Course?:
Yes - Will take

Sentence Comments:
Fair sentence. Ban will be reduced if course taken. Lesson learned.
 
Brief Description of Offence:
Finished work early on a Friday. Pulled over and drank some cans I had in car for a party that weekend. Member of public noticed me slumped at wheel, called police and I failed roadside test.

Fast forward 8 weeks (the day before my court appearance), went to pub to calm nerves and ended up stupidly back in my car. Car park security noticed me acting suspiciously, police called and second failed breath test.

Blood Alcohol Level and Reading Type:
1st offence - Breath 133ug (yes really)
2nd offence - Breath 120ug (again, really)

Mitigating Factors:
- Long clean driving record
- No previous drink driving / criminal convictions
- Co-operation with the police throughot both processes (no point in trying to lie, acted polite throughout)
- Good character (put forward by my amazing solictor)
- Sole / primary carer for 10mo

Aggravating Factors:
- Both HIGH readings
- Second offence occured 8 weeks after inital
- Heard by a district judge, who had previously been out of work following a collision WITH a drink driver.

Legal Representation at Court?:
Yes (private solicitor, worth EVERY £££) £750 all in for first hearing, had to forward £500 extra for them to travel to new court hearing over 1 hour away that morning as I was remanded in custody)

Sentence:
20 month suspended 18 week prison sentence
60 month ban
£250 costs
6 week curfew (home between 3pm-3am)

Offered the Drink Driving Rehabilitation Course?:
Yes, fully inted to complete.

Sentence Comments:
The last 8 weeks of my life have been turbulent, and I turned to alcohol for the solution. Prison was highly likely for either offence, and the court ushers were adimant I'd be walking back down the stairs with them to the bus waiting outside (x6 capacity, x5 already remanded previously that day and I was the last hearing).

I was meant to be in court the morning after my 2nd offence, and felt that this was the end after being remanded in custody awaiting the next local court hearing that day.

Spent over £1000 in legal aid and a further £250 in court fees, but cannot emphasise enough how important getting a good solicitor is. I was obviously going to plead guilty to both charges, and as you can see from the offence details/aggravating factors I wasn't getting off lightly.

I fully intend to put this in my past, and move forward with my life. My first alcohol dependancy clinic is 5 days away. I've lost countless hours of sleep and have felt ill for pretty much 8 weeks now. Reading the other posts on this page, I'd like to assure you that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Even though it may be pinhole sized to me atm beginning my sentence, I know that I'll be a better person on the other side of this experience.

Thankful that on both occasions the only life ruined was that of myself, and unforuntaley my immediate family.
 
I am not going to judge what you did, just point out that it is highly Likely that you will ever judged by DVLA to be alcohol dependent. This requires a minimum of 12 months ABSTINENCE (NOT safe drinking) and your GP will be asked if
There have been any alcohol related issues in the past 3 years, so as well as the dependency clinic you should check in regularly with your GP and ask that your abstinence is recorded in your notes. That, plus a liver test now and again (CDT is best, but some GP’s only do LFT’s)
 
Reported by driver behind me. Drove two minutes to local shop ( yes, I know, walk - duh) to get £££ for a joiners appointment for which I had forgotten he wanted £££.

Ahem 120. In "defence", been up since 5am, nowt to eat all day and celebrated some very good news because it was 6pm somewhere. Topping up from night before.

Mitigating:
V short distance (seems to be disregarded always)
No previous convictions
V V V co-operative with police

Solicitor
Oh yes Apparently always encouraged as such high readings.
Lovely chap who charged me the equivalent of Legal Aid despite having been roused out of bed in the middle of the night.

Sentence
3 year ban
15 RAR days
200 "unpaid work hours"

My solicitor was furious and desperate to appeal. I was too in awe of the "legal process" and refused. Learn from my mistakes and go for it.

By which I mean, Be ye not so stupid. Water is not the drink of the devil. Or whatever, Could say live and learn but aaaaghhhh.
 
Last edited:
Brief Description of Offence:
Got drunk after a work drinks and had planned to ge the train home afterwards. Had been drinking beer and people were buying shots prior to the close. I had my helmet with me as because my office was closed for the weekend. BUT, somewhere between leaving the pub and going for the train I got on the vespa bike and started to drive home. I got about a mile down the road before I came off the bike, nothing serious, no damage to anyone or even me and a few scratches. I parked up the bike and started walking home but someone had seen the incident and called the police who came and found me along the road with my helmet and breathalised me and toook me to the station to be charged. I spend the night in the cell.

Blood Alcohol Level and Reading Type:
96mg of breath

Mitigating Factors:
No previous convictions, clean drivers licence, wife in court and references from both her and a person of respect in the business community which I think did me untold favours in the end result. Also, the fact that I am the sole driver in the family was considered.
Also, the fact that after I came off the bike I parked it up by a building site and did not attempt to resume riding was also considered a positive. Once the police had found me and picked me up I admitted on the spot to what had happened and was fully cooperative both there and at the station.

Aggravating Factors:
Coming off the bike

Legal Representation at Court?:
Yes. I dread to think of what I would be dealing with now had I not had the legal representation that I did. He was excellent, considerate, understanding and diligent. To go through that on my own would have been absolute hell, and I would suggest to anyone else who thinks they dont need one, very unwise.
We requested a Band D fine instead of any community service as the implications of a community order would have had severly negative implications on my job, as I need to travel to the US on business in future.


Sentence:
24 month ban, £1500 fine and costs of £85, plus the £15 victims support chg. I will have to go to the DVLA for a medical when I want to get my licence back, however there has been a bit of confusion with my licence as I have a Rep of Irl drivers licence. So they will have to give that back to me shortly as it is not UK proprty, after the DVLA do their checks. They are not allowed to hold it ( but that is under debate at the moment and for now they do have it - with a view to posting it back to me when they work out the ever changing and complicated international governmental agreements). And technically speaking I can still drive in Ireland, and Europe ( albeit a near impossibility as my conviction would make insurance a next to impossibe ). No re-test though so that will be good.

Offered the Drink Driving Rehabilitation Course?:
Yes, but only getting 3 months off because the 24 mths due to the high reading. I will certainly be doing the course, not just for the purposes of reducing the disqualification but also because I want to ensure that I fully understand the gravity/and potential results of doing something as stupid as drinking and driving and the effects it has one people and the wider community.


Sentence Comments:
I believe that I have got away with a lenient sentance given the reading, coming off the bike and the fact that I was slurring my speech. Had I not had a lawyer, I would have a longer ban, a higher fine and certainly community service for the next 3-6 months at least.
All in all I am very relieved and have learned the most valuable lesson ever. Life is very fragile and the very slightest thing can turn your content and normal life into a broken and living nightmare - be very very careful with the decisions you make.
Hi there. Are you concerned about travelling to the US and their strict border control?
 
Hi there. Are you concerned about travelling to the US and their strict border control?

The current ESTA form for a visitors visa to the USA asks a question: “have you ever been arrested for an offence that involved serious injury to a person, serious damage to property or significant loss to your government?” (Not the exact wording, but that is the gist of it) so unless you have damaged several cars (your own does not apply) or badly injured someone with your drink drive conviction then you can safely answer ‘no’ to that question and you will get access to visit the USA.
If you want a work visa they ask about ANY offence so it would have to be declared. If the conviction was in the past 5 years then they will want you to have a medical before deciding if you should be granted access to the USA.
 
I am not going to judge what you did, just point out that it is highly Likely that you will ever judged by DVLA to be alcohol dependent. This requires a minimum of 12 months ABSTINENCE (NOT safe drinking) and your GP will be asked if
There have been any alcohol related issues in the past 3 years, so as well as the dependency clinic you should check in regularly with your GP and ask that your abstinence is recorded in your notes. That, plus a liver test now and again (CDT is best, but some GP’s only do LFT’s)

Thanks for the reply!

I have been abstaining since the conviction and am due to see my GP again on Wednesday.

When you say regularly check in with GP, how often would you suggest? Quarterly?
 
Reported by driver behind me. Drove two minutes to local shop ( yes, I know, walk - duh) to get £££ for a joiners appointment for which I had forgotten he wanted £££.

Ahem 120. In "defence", been up since 5am, nowt to eat all day and celebrated some very good news because it was 6pm somewhere. Topping up from night before.

Mitigating:
V short distance (seems to be disregarded always)
No previous convictions
V V V co-operative with police

Solicitor
Oh yes Apparently always encouraged as such high readings.
Lovely chap who charged me the equivalent of Legal Aid despite having been roused out of bed in the middle of the night.

Sentence
3 year ban
15 RAR days
200 "unpaid work hours"

My solicitor was furious and desperate to appeal. I was too in awe of the "legal process" and refused. Learn from my mistakes and go for it.

By which I mean, Be ye not so stupid. Water is not the drink of the devil. Or whatever, Could say live and learn but aaaaghhhh.
Great attitude! Seems you're taken your penance on the chin
 
Thanks for the reply!

I have been abstaining since the conviction and am due to see my GP again on Wednesday.

When you say regularly check in with GP, how often would you suggest? Quarterly?

Yes, quarterly would be good.
 
Long clean driving record. Teacher at a special school. Walked home previous evening. Thought I had given long enough to clear alcohol from system.
 
Great attitude! Seems you're taken your penance on the chin
Ha, ha. As if. Still fuming at the randomness of sentences. What does cheer me up (and yes we are not supposed to know such things, shhhh) is that the magistrates had an almighty row while they withdrew as couldn't agree on the sentence.
 
Ah Man! Seems you got a rough deal. I had a dream last night I got a letter from the old bill saying they'd made a mistake, theyve revoked the charge and I didnt have to appear. Nice dream, sadly only just a dream.
 
Hello fellow forum members. I'm new to this site so below is details of my own conviction.

Brief Description of Offence:

I had been drinking heavily for the best part of 36 hours. I went through the breakdown of a relationship just after Christmas 2018, then a familiar bereavement in January 2019. I was also not sleeping and suffering depression. I was on leave from work the week I got arrested and had been using the extra down time to drink mainly cans of premium 5% lager (Heineken, Kronenbourg, San Miguel). After drinking most of the day at home, I decided to get behind the wheel of my car to go to the shop to buy more alcohol sometime in the early evening. I drove about half a mile before my car stalled at a road junction. The battery on the car was playing up and became disorientated when I tried to restart it. A bloke walking his dog, came over to intervene and realising I was very intoxicated removed the keys from the ignition before ringing 999 on his mobile phone. Another female passer by also intervened and decided to have her two penn'orth and ring the cops on her own mobile even though the first chap was still on the phone to them. I was tempted to leg it but I knew I was too drunk and exhausted to make a ran for it at the time and I knew I would be digging a big hole for myself so I waited at the roadside until the police arrived, which was only five minutes after the initial call was made (quite rapid considering police numbers have been butchered and cops don't even bother turning up at half of the incidents reported to them). I was arrested once I gave the positive reading. Fortunately, as I didn't pose a threat, the two cops didn't need to handcuff me and they took me to the station in the back of their livered car rather than the rear of a van.

Blood Alcohol Level and Reading Type:
I do not know what the roadside reading was or if the police officers had a hand held device that tells them the figure. I was taken to the police station and had to provide two readings on the intoxilyzer machine - the first was 115 mg in my breath and the second was 113 mg. The police will go off the lowest reading to pursue their prosecution so 113 mg was my benchmark.

Mitigating Factors:
I had held a driving licence for twenty years during which I received only one lot of three points for speeding in 2006 that had long since expired and removed from my licence. I had no previous cautions or convictions and no criminal background where I have come to the attention of the police. I remained at the scene for police arrival, I co-operated with the arresting officers and all the staff in police custody. As I had not been seen by police officers to drive - I had to be kept in custody over night (once I had sobered up) and interviewed the following morning by an officer from the Roads Policing Unit (Traffic Police). I gave a full and frank interview so I made his job far easier and he could charge me and bail me straight away. I was not involved in any collision and no one else came to any harm or inconvenience as a result of my actions.

Aggravating Factors:
The only aggravating factor is the high reading of 113 mg that put me at more than three times the legal UK drink drive limit.

Legal Representation at Court?:
I asked for a solicitor while in police custody as it is provided for with no cost or charge to the prisoner. The chap who represented me during my interview was not actually a solicitor - he was what is known as a legal representative (someone employed by a law firm who is on their way to qualifying as a solicitor but is just as knowledgeable). I had a private consultation with him in which he did reveal that the police had obtained statements from the witnesses at the scene but as the police did not witness my driving I had to be interviewed under caution. The evidence was quite strong and he advised I could go no comment and challenge the integrity of the witness accounts. I knew at that point I was on a hiding to nothing and decided to fully co-operate with the interviewing officer. I also knew that defendants who deny their crimes and string out a trial at court get punished with more severe sentences if they are found guilty. I decided a 'guilty' plea would be favourable to everyone and get the whole sorry business done and dusted so I could move forward with my life.

Prior to attending court I learned I was not entitled to legal aid and therefore if I wanted a solicitor to represent me I would have to fork out a lot of money which I could not afford due to losing my job because of the drink driving. I prepared my apologises and what I would say in the court room in the days leading up to the court date. On the day of the trial, I approached the usher to explain I would represent myself in the court room. When being called into the court room, a prosecution barrister was present who relayed the full facts of the case in front of the magistrates bench. I was then allowed to stand up and offer words of defence. I kindly told the magistrates I was sorry for my actions, that I had fully co-operated with the police and I had no intentions of denying the charge. Everyone in that room that day were very courteous and polite towards me.

Sentence:
28 month ban from driving. No fine (I resigned from my job the week before which was taken into account), £85 court costs, £85 surcharge and 150 hours community service to be completed as part of a 12 month court order. No further sanctions imposed on the court order.

Offered the Drink Driving Rehabilitation Course?:
Yes - I requested this in the court room and the court clerk told me I had to complete the course no later than the 9th October 2020. I booked onto the TTC course as soon as I received the letter through the post. Course completed in May 2019 which will give the court and the DVLA ample time to process my reduction so the DVLA are aware that my invitation for a HRO medical can be sent around this time next year (2020) instead of the spring of 2021.

Sentence Comments:
A justifiable sentence. I researched the sentencing guidelines prior to my court appearance and I knew I was looking at a minimum of 26 months off the road. As the reading was more than 87.5 mg I fell into the High Risk Offender category which passes the threshold for the intervention of the Probation Service. I knew that because my reading was so high, I would be looking at an additional punishment.

Since my own ban, I've kept a beady eye on the weekly court results published in the local paper and drink drivers who have been dealt with at the same court appear to be getting similar punishment. What varies is that someone with a higher reading than myself may get away with lesser hours of community service but they also have to take part in a alcohol treatment programme that evens out the punishment. Even though I got 150 hours, there were no other conditions attached to the court order. Once my hours were in the bag I was a closed file as far as the probation service were concerned.

CJ1980
 
Brief Description of Offence:

was arrested after i had an accident in my car following being attacked by a rear passenger, was took to a persons house near by to ring for police and while i was there stupidly accepted alcohol to calm nerves, police came over 2 hours later breathalyzed me and arrested me for DRUNK DRIVING
with no evidence that i had drove though in court the cps had said a officer had witnessed me back at the car trying to move it, though it was un operable, panicked at court with no solicitor as had no funds so plead guilty as advised by the duty, and they would get me lower sentence

Blood Alcohol Level and Reading Type:
105 breath

Mitigating Factors:
clean licence, business owner with 4 staff that would be effected as i live considerable distance from my business which relies on driving
character reference from doctor and fellow business owners

Aggravating Factors:
car was crashed
passengers
Legal Representation at Court?: Duty


Sentence: 26 months ban, 12 month probation, 6 weeks D.I.D course, £360 fine and costs


Offered the Drink Driving Rehabilitation Course?: yes


Sentence Comments:
absolutley ridiculous to be honest unfair as person previous to me had blew 125 ni insurance or licence and he came out smiling with a leniant sentance (he was seen by magistrates) unfortunatly i had a district judge take over the court when it was my turn and he was known to be very strict
unhappy about it all tbh lost my buisness and home because of the length of the ban and was unable to travel to keep things going staff lost jobs, family lost a home all because of a police officer lying ( found out the police officer involved had a grudge against a family member)
 
Not to be dismissive of the above but, to blow 105 from a small amount of alcohol (assumption given that you were at a stranger's (persons) house) in the space of 2hrs doesn't seem too plausible. 105 is 3x the legal limit...

Why didn't you bring the rear passenger attacking you to come as a witness?!

If you were not seen driving, you shouldn't have been charged with drink driving but instead charged with drunk in charge. Sorry, but doesn't stack up to me...
 
hard to explain all theres more to it but not going to detail all on here
it stacks up just hard to explain
 
Enter code DRINKDRIVING10 during checkout for 10% off
Top