URGENT advice needed

Convicted Driver Insurance

Krisz

Member
Hi,

My story is a little complicated.. couple days before new years I went away to see family.

I've had half a glass of white and double vodka coke an hour or two before leaving to go back home. The roads were in the pitch dark countryside, with narrow lanes and blind corners. Around a relatively long bend doing no more then 35mph (in a 60 zone) my car slipped on mud and ice and went off road quite deep into a ditch. - Luckily I was the only one in the car and got out with minor scratches after having to climb out the passenger side & called emergency services to help me. I panicked, had no idea what was going on or even if I was alive I was so scared.

I had a Russian vodka in the car and by the state of the accident I knew that car was not coming out anytime soon and I chugged vodka that was in my car. - Yup I didn't even think I would get breathalyzed as I literally had no idea what to do (my mum died in a car crash when I was a baby and I genuinely thought I was dead) and I've just finished a long counselling program because of this.. - I blew around 83, then around 86/85 at the station, maybe the other way around.

I told them from the start I had a double vodka coke, half a glass of wine (I did not see either being poured) and that I necked vodka in my car after the crash.

I'm not pleading guilty as I know I will certainly loose my license but the same time I will have to represent myself as I simply can't afford legal help being young living without parents. - No clue how I'm going to pay for court and trial costs either.

I've spoken to plenty motoring solicitors and literally every single one of them have said I have a very good chance / case of keeping my license but this will cost me between £2,500 and £10,000 (based on about 6 independent solicitors).

Any advice is deeply appreciated. - I will post an update on the outcome tomorrow & a later trial date.
 
The defence you are raising is commonly known as a 'hip-flask defence' or a post-incident consumption defence. This is effectively arguing that you would not have been over the legal limit where it not for the additional alcohol you had consumed after driving. This defence requires you as the defendant to prove that this happened. It is not enough to simply raise this and hope that the prosecution can't prove it not to be the case. To help you prove this you would need to consider instructing an expert forensic toxicologist to consider the relevant consumption and timescales. It would also be very helpful to get some evidence form any witnesses to your alcohol consumption before driving.
 
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