Defend Drink Driving Offences (Driving with Excess Alcohol)

As specialists in drink driving offences, our expansive knowledge of the factual and technical defences in this niche area of law allows us to fight your corner and save your driving licence.

Such defences include challenges to the reliability of the evidential specimen which you provided, and having evidence thrown out of Court due to breaches in procedure.

There is hope as we can help you. The vast majority of drink driving offences can be successfully defended. In fact, Managing Director Alison Ashworth has a 100% acquittal rate in drink driving cases involving the analysis of blood and urine. 

Call our motoring law helpline for free advice on 0330 33 22 770 and speak directly with a specialist drink driving solicitor who can advise you on your case. We will listen to your concerns, advise you on the law, and explain what we can do to help you.

The consequences of a drink driving conviction

A conviction for drink driving would result in a minimum of a twelve month driving ban. You also face an unlimited fine, a criminal record, increased future insurance premiums and even a community or custodial sentence.  Not to mention, the knock on effect of a disqualification from driving: the potential loss of your employment, difficulties paying your mortgage, difficulties at home, and the fact that your good name may be tarnished.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE MAGISTRATES’ SENTENCING GUIDELINES ON DRINK DRIVING

The law:

In every drink driving case, the Prosecution must prove the following facts:

  • That you drove the vehicle; and
  • That the driving took place on a road or public place; and
  • That you were over the drink drive limit when you drove the vehicle.

If any of these elements are successfully challenged then you will be found not guilty of drink driving.

On our examination of your case, the Prosecution may be further required to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the correct procedures were followed and that the specimen that you provided was reliable.

There are a great number of defences available to drink driving offences. It is always worth speaking to one of our specialist drink driving solicitors to find out if your case is one of the many which could end in a not guilty verdict. For obvious reasons, it would not be prudent or even possible to provide a comprehensive list of the drink driving defences and case tactics which we deploy, however some of the more common ones are as follows:

Drink driving defences applicable to all forms of specimens:

  1. The police officer did not warn me that if I failed to give a specimen of breath/blood/urine then I would be prosecuted (regardless of whether or not you ultimately provided your specimen);
  2. I was asked to provide a different type of specimen when there was nothing wrong with the breath evidence which I provided;
  3. I was not able to understand the drink drive procedure;
  4. I did not drink enough alcohol to warrant the reading that was found by the police;
  5. I drank further alcohol after driving my vehicle (hip flask defence);
  6. I was not driving on a road or public place;

There are also a number of further drink driving defences which are specific to the type of specimen you provided, relating to, for example, the functionality and operation of the breathalyser machine or the reliability of the blood or urine specimen which was taken from you. These are of course in addition to further technical (“loopholes”) or procedural drink driving defences. In the event that you provided a blood or urine sample then we urge you to visit our specialist section of the website dedicated to these alternative types of specimen.

CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON CHALLENGING BLOOD AND URINE SAMPLES

How our specialist drink driving solicitors can help you

By calling our free phone number on 0330 33 22 770 we will advise you on the likely penalty which you face, and outline any immediate defences which we are able to identify.

In every case where there is a potential drink driving defence to be raised we will conduct a thorough investigation into circumstances of the alleged offence and secure vital evidence which could ultimately result in your not guilty verdict.

Managing Director and specialist drink driving solicitor Alison Ashworth, has an outstanding record of success in defending drink driving allegations, and has won every single case involving the analysis of blood or urine that she has ever taken on; meaning that all such clients were found not guilty.

Call Now!

Feel free to call our motoring law helpline to find out whether your drink driving case is one of the many that can be defended. Lines are open round the clock at a time to suit you, so when you’re ready contact us for free on 0330 33 22 770 and  find out what we can do for you.

Click HERE to read a testimonial from a very satisfied client who was found Not Guilty of Drink Driving.

What are the drink drive limits?

The drink drive limits in England and Wales are as follows:

  • 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 ml of breath;
  • 80mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood;
  • 107mg of alcohol in 100 ml of urine.

The length of disqualification which the Magistrates will consider appropriate in your case will rise in accordance with the amount of alcohol found in your system. In short, the more over the drink drive limit you are, the longer the length of driving ban you are facing.

The Court will also consider any aggravating and mitigating factors involved in the drink driving offence. Aggravating factors could include a lack of co-operation, the presence of children in the car, or involvement in an accident. These aggravating features would increase the seriousness of the offence and the potential sentence you face.

Pleading guilty to drink driving? – Damage limitation

Drink driving is a criminal offence which can have extremely serious consequences. The right representation can mean the difference between a custodial sentence, community service or a driving ban.

If you fully accept that you committed the offence as alleged by the Prosecution and wish to secure the best possible sentence then our guilty plea and mitigation service could have a massive impact on the overall sentence you receive.

Our specialist drink driving solicitors continue to secure truly outstanding results in excess alcohol (drink driving) cases when putting forward guilty pleas and mitigation.

We would recommend to the Court that you be offered the opportunity to take part in a drink driver rehabilitation course, which would knock off a quarter of the length of the driving ban if successfully completed. This means that in the best case scenario, where a relatively low level of alcohol was found in your body, you would only serve a 9 month disqualification from driving.

If you’re considering pleading guilty to a drink driving offence and would like to know more about how our guilty plea and mitigation service could give you peace of mind along with an amazing result at Court, then visit our dedicated guilty plea page or call one of our specialist drink driving solicitors on 0330 33 22 770. Lines are open round the clock, seven days a week, so get in touch whenever’s best for you.

Magistrates’ Sentencing Guidelines for Drink Driving:

The Magistrates’ Sentencing Guidelines for drink driving can be found here:

Magistrates’ Sentencing Guidelines for drink driving

We are always happy to talk through your options and provide expert legal advice and guidance which could result in a not guilty verdict in your case.

client review and testimonial for Ashworth Motoring Law from a driver who was found not guilty of drink driving