Drink Driving Solicitors

Have you been stopped by the police for a drink driving offence? It can be a difficult time for yourself and your family, so it is important to ensure you receive the best legal advice from a drink driving solicitor to guide you through the court case.

At David Gray, our drink driving solicitors are experts in motoring offences, including drink driving offences, and can help if you’ve been caught over the legal drink driving limit. Our specialist solicitors have many years’ experience and are best rated in the North East, having successfully defended many previous clients against drink driving offences.

Drink driving penalties

There are strict alcohol limits for drivers but how many drinks equal the limit is dependent by person. It can depend on a variety of factors, like your weight, age, sex and metabolism, the type and amount of alcohol you are consuming, and what you have eaten at the time. Exceeding the drink driving limit can result in disqualification from driving but can also result in paying a fine or facing a prison sentence, depending on the severity of your drink driving offence.

If you face a charge of drink driving, you should seek specialist advice our team of drink driving solicitors as soon as possible. Driving or attempting to drive while over the alcohol limit normally carries a mandatory disqualification of at least 12 months. You may also be considered for the Drink Driving Rehabilitation Scheme to reduce your driving ban if you are found guilty of a drink driving offence and your ban is for 12 months or more, but you do have to pay to take this course. The decision to take this course must be made in court, and if you do decide to complete the course, you must do so within a certain time frame to reduce your ban by a quarter. Our specialist drink driving solicitors will ensure you are considered for this course. The court can and will also consider punishment from a fine to a prison sentence depending on your alcohol reading and the circumstances of your drink driving charge.

However, it can be possible to avoid disqualification if “special reasons” are proved – for example, if you have driven in an emergency or only a very short distance, but this decision will be made by the court.

Every drink driving case is different, and our specialist drink driving solicitors will fully consider the evidence against you and provide expert representation at trial. If you do decide to plead guilty, we will provide specialist drink driving advice and representation to reduce the punishment.

Our drink driving solicitors understand the importance of your driving licence and how life can change without it. Whether you wish to challenge the drink driving charge or reduce the disqualification or punishment imposed, contact us for further advice.

If you’ve been caught under the influence of drugs when driving, you should seek advice from our drug driving solicitors.

What is the legal drink driving limit?

Your alcohol levels are measured through a specimen of breath, blood or urine. It is an offence to refuse to provide a specimen unless you have a reasonable excuse (a physical or mental inability), a reasonable excuse does not include delaying giving a sample “until you receive legal advice.”

In England and Wales, the current drink drive limits are as follows:

In breath – 35 mg
In blood – 80mg
In urine – 107mg

Please note there is no longer a requirement for the police to offer a blood or urine test if your breath reading is below 50mg.

Failing to provide a specimen

If you refuse to give a specimen, whether it be a breath test, blood or urine sample, you will be charged with this offence. You may be imprisoned for 6 months, an unlimited fine or a ban from driving for at least 1 year, or 3 years if you are convicted twice in 10 years. If you are convicted of failing to provide a specimen, you will be disqualified from driving and can receive a higher punishment than for a drink driving.

The fact that you claim not to have consumed any alcohol, consumed alcohol since driving, or claim to not have been driving at all, will not be considered as a reasonable excuse for failing to provide a specimen.

You should therefore provide a sample if the police believe you have committed a drink driving offence, even if you think the request for a specimen is unjustified.

Footage from custody
Footage of the drink/drive procedures can be crucial evidence in your case. We often identify issues with the police procedures from this. Footage is automatically destroyed after 28 days unless a request is made to retain it. Please seek early advice so that necessary requests can be made.

Technical Defences

Our specialist drink driving solicitors will carefully scrutinise the evidence to consider whether any technical defences are available to you. The police must follow certain rules and procedures when requiring and conducting drink driving procedures. If an error has been made, then you could be found not guilty. We will advise you regarding all of your options including any challenge to the evidence or procedures.

Our fees

In accordance with rules published by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority, as of December 2018, all firms offering this type of work must publish details of prices and personnel undertaking the work. Please see our dedicated fees page for more information.