FAILURE TO PROVIDE

Convicted Driver Insurance

idiot.

Member
Hi…… so I’m due in court on 13th September for failure to provide a specimen.
I was pulled over and blew almost 3 times the legal limit. I have a three month old and have been in antidepressants since he arrived, I also have 4 other children. My marriage has been under strain since the new baby arrived and we had a huge row. I got in the car and drove - I didn’t even know where I was going I just drove to town and on my way back was pulled over. At the station I went into sheer panic, the police told me they were visiting my home to tell my husband which caused me great stress - I went into what I think was an anxiety attack and couldn’t blow into the machine because my breath wouldn’t last that long. I genuinely couldn’t catch my breath :-( it’s was so horrific. I’m so scared about what’s going to happen in court. I’m waiting on advice from a solicitor as to plead guilty or not guilty and go to trial and try to testify my reasons for not providing 💔
The only people who lose out here are my kids. All their after school clubs etc will be impossible for me get them all where they need to be it’s just so horrendous. Cannot believe what I’ve done. I can’t sleep since it happened because I’m so scared I’ll get sent to jail or have to do community service. I’m utterly ashamed of myself and feel like such a let down of a mother. Any advice or personal experiences would be gratefully received! I know everybody is different so each case will be dealt with differently but I’m just absolutely petrified about going to court and what’s going to happen to me !!!
 
Realistically? Unless you can get a medical expert to tell the court you didn't provide a sample for medical reasons, you'll be convicted of failure to provide and get around 24 months ban and be a high risk offender, so will need to pass a medical to get your licence back.

If you do get a medical expert...while the roadside test can't be given as evidence for the level, it would be quite easy to make a case that you were unfit through drink (I assume) but I'll leave that for others.
 
JamesH2122 said:
Realistically? Unless you can get a medical expert to tell the court you didn't provide a sample for medical reasons, you'll be convicted of failure to provide and get around 24 months ban and be a high risk offender, so will need to pass a medical to get your licence back.

If you do get a medical expert...while the roadside test can't be given as evidence for the level, it would be quite easy to make a case that you were unfit through drink (I assume) but I'll leave that for others.
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I appreciate the honesty! Pretty horrendous 💔
 
Welcome to the forum. What you're going through, while pretty horrendous, it's not the end of the world. Most importantly no one was hurt. JamesH is absolutely right about what you should expect ban wise. I think plowing money into legal representation would be a waste. They tend to promise the world but reality is a different matter. Plus I'm not sure the courts delving into your mental state will help when it comes to getting your licence back. There are a lot of people on here with more relevant experience, I found the advice etc invaluable. One thing we do always point out is the need to request (if not offered) the drink drive course as this reduces the ban by 25%. Good luck!
 
jamesbrown1 said:
Welcome to the forum. What you're going through, while pretty horrendous, it's not the end of the world. Most importantly no one was hurt. JamesH is absolutely right about what you should expect ban wise. I think plowing money into legal representation would be a waste. They tend to promise the world but reality is a different matter. Plus I'm not sure the courts delving into your mental state will help when it comes to getting your licence back. There are a lot of people on here with more relevant experience, I found the advice etc invaluable. One thing we do always point out is the need to request (if not offered) the drink drive course as this reduces the ban by 25%. Good luck!
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It feels like the end of the world. I keep replaying my choice to drive over and over again. This is truly the most horrendous thing I’ve ever been through. Do you think i will have to do a medical to get my licence back ? How would me being on antidepressants affect that do you think? I just don’t want them to think I refused when I know it was genuinely impossible for me to do. I have the option to plead guilty for failure to provide with an explanation I suppose. I have a solicitor so I will mention the 25% reduction. I suppose there’s no good enough reason in the world to justify the choice I made so I have to learn to deal with the consequences.
 
idiot. said:
It feels like the end of the world. I keep replaying my choice to drive over and over again. This is truly the most horrendous thing I’ve ever been through. Do you think i will have to do a medical to get my licence back ? How would me being on antidepressants affect that do you think? I just don’t want them to think I refused when I know it was genuinely impossible for me to do. I have the option to plead guilty for failure to provide with an explanation I suppose. I have a solicitor so I will mention the 25% reduction. I suppose there’s no good enough reason in the world to justify the choice I made so I have to learn to deal with the consequences.
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Unfortunately you are pretty much spot on with your assessment. I'm not completely sure whether u will be classes as HRO as you didn't provide an evidential specimen, but blowing 3 times the limit won't bode well. With the HRO comes the medical and that's a long way from straight forward. Lately the process has been pretty appalling due to lockdown etc, but hopefully things will have improved by the time you can reapply for your license.
 
idiot. said:
It feels like the end of the world. I keep replaying my choice to drive over and over again. This is truly the most horrendous thing I’ve ever been through. Do you think i will have to do a medical to get my licence back ? How would me being on antidepressants affect that do you think? I just don’t want them to think I refused when I know it was genuinely impossible for me to do. I have the option to plead guilty for failure to provide with an explanation I suppose. I have a solicitor so I will mention the 25% reduction. I suppose there’s no good enough reason in the world to justify the choice I made so I have to learn to deal with the consequences.
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Sorry for what you going thru. Just a word of advice be very careful what you tell your gp and how much or how often you drink. And about mental health because all those things get brought up when you reapply for your lisence and they will contact your gp requesting all your medical information from 6 years back. I was not even pulled over I was at my home and because someone testified they saw me driving earlier the afternoon and spending £12000 I still lost the case. But at least I know I tried but it dragged it over 3 years of going to court and it has emotionally broken me down. If I plead guilty and showed remorse “apparently I would have gotten a shorter ban and it would have been all in the past long ago. And I might have to go back to my country as they might refuse my visa because of a criminal conviction even tho my 8 year old sun and husband is British. It is a absolute nightmare but I wish I found this forum earlier I would have have done a lot of things different most important I would not have asked my gp for help. Hopefully you have a good relationship with your gp and your mental help is most important but in my case it might be a reason for the dvla to refuse my lisence back.
 
idiot. said:
Hi…… so I’m due in court on 13th September for failure to provide a specimen.
I was pulled over and blew almost 3 times the legal limit. I have a three month old and have been in antidepressants since he arrived, I also have 4 other children. My marriage has been under strain since the new baby arrived and we had a huge row. I got in the car and drove - I didn’t even know where I was going I just drove to town and on my way back was pulled over. At the station I went into sheer panic, the police told me they were visiting my home to tell my husband which caused me great stress - I went into what I think was an anxiety attack and couldn’t blow into the machine because my breath wouldn’t last that long. I genuinely couldn’t catch my breath :-( it’s was so horrific. I’m so scared about what’s going to happen in court. I’m waiting on advice from a solicitor as to plead guilty or not guilty and go to trial and try to testify my reasons for not providing 💔
The only people who lose out here are my kids. All their after school clubs etc will be impossible for me get them all where they need to be it’s just so horrendous. Cannot believe what I’ve done. I can’t sleep since it happened because I’m so scared I’ll get sent to jail or have to do community service. I’m utterly ashamed of myself and feel like such a let down of a mother. Any advice or personal experiences would be gratefully received! I know everybody is different so each case will be dealt with differently but I’m just absolutely petrified about going to court and what’s going to happen to me !!!
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Hey there, your story sounds very similar to mine. I failed to provide due to panicking myself but I blew 89 on one of the readings they were able to get from me. At the time I was on sertraline and propranolol (for panic attacks). I pleaded not guilty and was still found guilty even with a medical note from my doctor explaining panic attacks. I spent money on a solicitor to fight my case but it got me nowhere. I got a 16 month ban with the course reducing it by 25%. My ban ended 3 days ago. However.... I'm classed as a HRO as I failed to provide to you will be too. Meaning you will have to do a medical. Best of luck for court. Stay with this forum - I found it 7 months into my ban and wished I found it sooner as its been a real comfort knowing there's others going through the same thing.
 
Assuming this is your first offence, nobody was hurt, and aside from not being able to blow you co-operated, then put the idea of prison out of your head....because it won't happen.
Use this forum and read about what others have experienced, you may well find it helps you realise you are not a monster and what you have actually done is (like most of us here) made a stupid mistake, one that many thousands of people make every year..... not that it means we should proud of it !

Difficult to say what the full outcome will be but you have had some good advice already. If you were over the limit then you can pretty much guarantee you will be banned, so try to deal with that in your mind. Its frustrating, it's inconvenient, however you will adapt one way or another, and at some stage (unless you do something very silly) the ban will end one day....its temporary.

Court - OK its not nice, but if you are pleading guilty, show remorse, behave and dont say anything stupid you may well find you are in and out in about 20 - 30 mins, and for many of us once that was over a weight was lifted and you can get on with adjusting.

There are a lot of friendly ears on here if you need them, and this forum has helped many of us come to terms and get through things.

Good luck
 
idiot. said:
It feels like the end of the world. I keep replaying my choice to drive over and over again. This is truly the most horrendous thing I’ve ever been through. Do you think i will have to do a medical to get my licence back ? How would me being on antidepressants affect that do you think? I just don’t want them to think I refused when I know it was genuinely impossible for me to do. I have the option to plead guilty for failure to provide with an explanation I suppose. I have a solicitor so I will mention the 25% reduction. I suppose there’s no good enough reason in the world to justify the choice I made so I have to learn to deal with the consequences.
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I can't comment on the failure to provide and totally agree. This is one of the worse things to go through but believe me you will get through it. I don't know what the courts will decide but you won't be going to prison. I didn't community service. Because of my mental health and covid restrictions at the time I had to make blank greetings cards. If I had been mentally okb and no covid it would've been helping out in a charity shop. Fast forward to getting your license back. I'm in antidepressants and tablets to help sleep. Theyb were not an issue because they weren't related to my arrest. Yes they wrote to my doctor. My mental health was not an issue and I got a full license back. All I can say is deep breaths. This isn't the end of the world even if it feels like it. There is an end. And I think many of us have learnt to value what most people see as the little things in life. Good luck x
 
Wow, thank you all so much for your supportive comments & for taking the time to reply. I suppose you’re all right about the mental health thing, although mine is related to post natal anxiety so I’m hoping they don’t hold onto that when it comes to getting my license back. In fact I’m tempted to not even go back for my next prescription now. I’ve never heard of a HRO before so at least I’ve prepared myself for that now thanks to you lot. Also the thought of community service is bleak 😩 also with a 4 month old baby & 4 other kids 4yrs - 13yrs old I don’t even know how I’d manage to do it !!! Urgh how people reoffend with drunk driving is beyond me, how could you put yourself through this more than once. At the time I never even thought about the fact that I’d be over the limit as I never felt drunk, how stupid. Lesson well and truly learnt! This is my first and last ever offence - dreading the next few years, feel so bad for my kids as there’s just no way they’ll all be able to continue with their clubs it’s logistically impossible! Sorry you’ve all been through similar feelings to this, it’s pretty crap!
 
Also, there’s not history of drinking on my medical reports as I don’t really drink. Maybe once a week/every ten days! I’d had three home size measures of gin and tonic which people say isn’t three times the limit but I wouldn’t know and suppose it doesn’t matter if that’s what the reading was I can’t dispute.
 
jamesbrown1 said:
Unfortunately you are pretty much spot on with your assessment. I'm not completely sure whether u will be classes as HRO as you didn't provide an evidential specimen, but blowing 3 times the limit won't bode well. With the HRO comes the medical and that's a long way from straight forward. Lately the process has been pretty appalling due to lockdown etc, but hopefully things will have improved by the time you can reapply for your license.
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All fail to provides are HROs .
 
jamesbrown1 said:
Thanks - i suspected but wasn't positive.. (y)
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I was one ! Tbh it makes sense as they will assume a high reading if you don’t provide. I’m not at all proud of my behaviour but I’d have been off the scale if I’d provided, I know I would . I can’t even remember what happened at the roadside but I can say that the police did not make a meal if it at all . The account was cringe making but could have been much worse .
 
idiot. said:
Wow, thank you all so much for your supportive comments & for taking the time to reply. I suppose you’re all right about the mental health thing, although mine is related to post natal anxiety so I’m hoping they don’t hold onto that when it comes to getting my license back. In fact I’m tempted to not even go back for my next prescription now. I’ve never heard of a HRO before so at least I’ve prepared myself for that now thanks to you lot. Also the thought of community service is bleak 😩 also with a 4 month old baby & 4 other kids 4yrs - 13yrs old I don’t even know how I’d manage to do it !!! Urgh how people reoffend with drunk driving is beyond me, how could you put yourself through this more than once. At the time I never even thought about the fact that I’d be over the limit as I never felt drunk, how stupid. Lesson well and truly learnt! This is my first and last ever offence - dreading the next few years, feel so bad for my kids as there’s just no way they’ll all be able to continue with their clubs it’s logistically impossible! Sorry you’ve all been through similar feelings to this, it’s pretty crap!
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I would advise you not to stop your medication for the reason you say . I was a HRO for fail to provide . I’d have been well over , as you would have been. I was on anti depressants at the time of the offence and still was at the time of the return of my licence . That is no impediment to the return of a licence. Also , when you come to reapply and attend for a medical, you gave to identify any mental health / medication in the preceding 3 years . Hopefully, whatever ban you get will end long before this, so you’d still have to mention it .
 
sorry for being thick but is a HRO in the eyes of the DVLA or the courts?? Or both? It makes me mad because I blew at roadside but the machine in the station was so much more difficult to do, especially because reality had hit me of how serious the situation was. also makes me mad that I have to plead guilty when I truly know I was struggling. When they put me in my cell two officers sat with me trying to help me regulate my breathing because I couldn’t catch my breath. Ended up leaving me on my own for an hour hyperventilating it was just awful. They just treat you like a criminal don’t they, well I suppose I technically am now but it’s not as if spending a night in the cells is something I’ve done before !!! When it comes to the medical what do I have to do to pass it? I know it’s ages off yet! Also, I’m on a low dose sertraline for anxiety post natal, surely they can’t penalise me for that? I’d rather not have a long medical history of being on anti depressants so I’m definitely not going back for any more. I’ve only had one prescription so far.
 
jamesbrown1 said:
Unfortunately HRO is a general clarification used by both the courts and subsequently the DVLA
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My understanding is that it is purely a DVLA classification that informs how the licence return process is managed . The fact that it is not a status imposed by the Courts is not relevant though .
 
Polly3 said:
My understanding is that it is purely a DVLA classification that informs how the licence return process is managed . The fact that it is not a status imposed by the Courts is not relevant though .
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No I understand now. I’ve just read it all on .gov 🥺 feel like a right scumbag 💔
 
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