EnglandWhere in the UK was this offence?
I’ve just come out of court after blowing 60 at the station. I got 17 month ban and got £250 fine plus court costs totalling £375. Anybody worried or losing sleep over this the only Advice i can give is don’t. No solictor needed as I pleaded guilty(waste of time if you admit it) didn’t even bother with the duty. They already know what they’re going to give you. Hold you hands up and say you’re sorry. Just glad it’s all over withBrief Description of Offence:
Went for a meal with the friends and on the way back decided to move my car from the main road (which would have got busy in the morning) to a side road. Hardly drove 0.5k but I must have clipped something as the tire went and I drove into a parked car which then hit the car Infront. The police came and I informed them of what happened. Got arrested and blew 63 at the station. Third-party costs got covered by my insurance, but I had to get my car repaired
Blood Alcohol Level and Reading Type:
Breath - 63
Mitigating Factors:
Clean driving license
Good character
Charity work
Lost by 12-year NCD as part of the 3rd party costs
Steep bill for the repairs of my own car
No injuries
11pm incident very low risk to public
Corporation with Police
Early guilty plea
Cars involved were repaired by insurance
Aggravating Factors:
was involved in the accident with park cars
Legal Representation at Court?:
Yes: ( please please if you are pleading guilty DO NOT pay more than £500
Sentence:
got banned for 17months reduced to 13 months 3 weeks after the course and all incl fine of £1000
Offered the Drink Driving Rehabilitation Course?:
Yes – looking to complete in FEB 21
Sentence Comments:
all things considered, it was ok.. I thought the lawyer could have/ should have done more especially when I had to pay£1100 to at least make an attempt to push for a more lenient ban considering the list of mitigation factors. The court staff was helpful and there was nothing the lawyer did that I couldn’t have done myself, however, I would still recommend having a lawyer but as above it shouldn’t be costing anyone more than £500 if you are pleading guilty!
I’ve just come out of court after blowing 60 at the station. I got 17 month ban and got £250 fine plus court costs totalling £375. Anybody worried or losing sleep over this the only Advice i can give is don’t. No solictor needed as I pleaded guilty(waste of time if you admit it) didn’t even bother with the duty. They already know what they’re going to give you. Hold you hands up and say you’re sorry. Just glad it’s all over with
Did you request the drink driving rehabilitation course from the magistrate to reduce your ban on completion?
Unless you end up in the press & the potential impact on jobs that can have or require licence or DBS then sorry worry cannot go away as consequences can have a major impactI’ve just come out of court after blowing 60 at the station. I got 17 month ban and got £250 fine plus court costs totalling £375. Anybody worried or losing sleep over this the only Advice i can give is don’t. No solictor needed as I pleaded guilty(waste of time if you admit it) didn’t even bother with the duty. They already know what they’re going to give you. Hold you hands up and say you’re sorry. Just glad it’s all over with
Yes 100% January as always it all comes down to circumstances. Obviously I want to keep my licence I’ve been driving 20 years and it’s gonna be like getting my legs cut off! But I chose to act like an idiot which I’m sure everyone reading this page can relate too but unfortunately I got caught. All I want is for people like myself who have never been in trouble before but are now having sleepless nights. PLEASE DONT WORRY. The minute I stepped in the court it was like a breath of fresh air compared to what I’d been through leading upto it. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH A SOLICITOR UNLESS YOU BLEW OVER 100. Letters from friends/workers are a waste of time at present with covid as they do not except paper work although you can read them out if you wish but I didn’t bother as I’ve said before you can tell from body language they’re just working to a bracket system. I’m writing this as this page has helped me so much and I felt I should give something back to try and help people who are in a similar position to myself. Any questions welcomeUnless you end up in the press & the potential impact on jobs that can have or require licence or DBS then sorry worry cannot go away as consequences can have a major impact
Unfortunately you can say you’re the only person to take you’re terminally ill relative to hospital with 1 hour to live. If you drink drive you’re getting banned. No ifs or buts. You will be banned!!!Unless you end up in the press & the potential impact on jobs that can have or require licence or DBS then sorry worry cannot go away as consequences can have a major impact
Good on you for your honesty. Onwards and upwards! I also blew very high. Deep regret. Good luck to you xxBrief Description of Offence: Basically had been drinking all night with mates on a Saturday evening through till Sunday morning early hours. Decided to stupidly drive to drop a friend home before going home myself. Someone reported that my driving was not up to scratch and got pulled over etc, guess you know the rest. Stupid mistake, thought i would be ok but evidently i was not. Big lesson learnt.
Blood Alcohol Level and Reading Type:
Very very high reading of 136 in breath - Sentencing guidelines start at 12 weeks in custody!
Mitigating Factors
Cooperative
No previous offences
No accidents
Good job
Clean license for over 10 years
Extremely remorseful
Aggravating Factors
Two passengers in the car
Extremely high reading
Legal Representation at Court?:
Yes! Even though i was pleading guilty, due to the extremely high reading i did not want to take any chances. Hired a local solicitor (Confirmed with him beforehand how many times he has been in court etc) - Always good to have a regular face that the judges have good rapport with. - Cost £300 per attendance and had to attend twice due to the first visit being adjourned as required a pre-sentence report.
Sentence:
32 month ban (With the option to do the course) - 250 hours of community service.
Sentence Comments:
Considering the level of the reading, i am extremely lucky not to have been given a suspended sentence. As per my above comment, my solicitor knew the judge and i think this helped. It's hard to say as different courts do tend to differ when sentencing. The 250 hours CS is alot, but then again i had an extremely high reading. Have alerted my work and my manager is extremely supportive. Big lesson learnt here, do not take things for granted! Had i actually hit someone i would not be able to come to terms with it so i am taking this as a learning lesson and would not advise anyone to ever drink and drive. The next year + will be hard, but things could be alot worse. Now need to work with probation to arrange suitable times to do my CS as i work on-call a lot. Have been offered a number of online courses and mentioned i know a local charity shop so hoping they can get me in there. If anyone requires any advice please feel free to reach out. It is a very nerve wrecking experience, but you have to keep your chin up, learn from these things and move on. I have now bought a bike so am hoping to get in to shape over the next year +. Don't DD people!
Oof, could not agree more about courts giving differing sentences. Yes, yes, yes, there are guidelines but.... I had lesser reading but 3 months suspended and 3 year ban. Oh and 15 RAR (ha) days. My solicitor also knew the head magistrate and they, ahem, do not like each other. On the flipside, he was lovely enough to write me a letter that got my ban recinded.Brief Description of Offence: Basically had been drinking all night with mates on a Saturday evening through till Sunday morning early hours. Decided to stupidly drive to drop a friend home before going home myself. Someone reported that my driving was not up to scratch and got pulled over etc, guess you know the rest. Stupid mistake, thought i would be ok but evidently i was not. Big lesson learnt.
Blood Alcohol Level and Reading Type:
Very very high reading of 136 in breath - Sentencing guidelines start at 12 weeks in custody!
Mitigating Factors
Cooperative
No previous offences
No accidents
Good job
Clean license for over 10 years
Extremely remorseful
Aggravating Factors
Two passengers in the car
Extremely high reading
Legal Representation at Court?:
Yes! Even though i was pleading guilty, due to the extremely high reading i did not want to take any chances. Hired a local solicitor (Confirmed with him beforehand how many times he has been in court etc) - Always good to have a regular face that the judges have good rapport with. - Cost £300 per attendance and had to attend twice due to the first visit being adjourned as required a pre-sentence report.
Sentence:
32 month ban (With the option to do the course) - 250 hours of community service.
Sentence Comments:
Considering the level of the reading, i am extremely lucky not to have been given a suspended sentence. As per my above comment, my solicitor knew the judge and i think this helped. It's hard to say as different courts do tend to differ when sentencing. The 250 hours CS is alot, but then again i had an extremely high reading. Have alerted my work and my manager is extremely supportive. Big lesson learnt here, do not take things for granted! Had i actually hit someone i would not be able to come to terms with it so i am taking this as a learning lesson and would not advise anyone to ever drink and drive. The next year + will be hard, but things could be alot worse. Now need to work with probation to arrange suitable times to do my CS as i work on-call a lot. Have been offered a number of online courses and mentioned i know a local charity shop so hoping they can get me in there. If anyone requires any advice please feel free to reach out. It is a very nerve wrecking experience, but you have to keep your chin up, learn from these things and move on. I have now bought a bike so am hoping to get in to shape over the next year +. Don't DD people!