The consequences of a drink driving conviction can be quite serious. If you are facing legal proceedings resulting from a failed blood or breath test, you will first need the counsel of drink driving solicitors. They can advise you of your options, help you navigate the process and help you understand road traffic law. December is a time when many people find themselves in drink driving situations, unintentionally putting themselves and others at risk by having one too many at the office party and getting behind the wheel because they don’t “feel drunk”. But you don’t have to feel drunk in order to be impaired by legal definition, and the latter can cost you dearly.
England measures blood alcohol content as follows: 80 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood, 35 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath and 107 milligrammes for 100 millilitres of urine. In Scotland and much of the European Union, the rates are considerably lower at 50 mg per 100 ml of blood. How the limit is reached, though, is different for each person and, as most of us know, affected not by only our height and weight but also by our metabolism, whether and what we’ve eaten recently, and other factors. In other words, if you know that you are going to be at a party and you don’t know exactly how much you can safely consume, you would be wise to plan alternatives before the evening has begun.
The government spells out the potential consequences on its Web site, but what you incur will be based on your particular circumstances and the magistrates who hear your case, but the least you can expect is a find of £2,500. The worst case scenario, of course, is imprisonment but of great concern for many people would be a driving ban. If you receive a driving ban, you will not be able to drive anywhere within the UK while it is in effect and this would constitute a great hardship for many people.
Fighting a driving ban is tough, however – almost impossible if the offence is drink driving – but if you can prove undue hardship, you might be able to avoid it. If you are pulled over, do not refuse to take a test or provide a specimen. Doing so will almost surely disqualify you from being able to petition the Court to dismiss the possibility of a driving ban.
Experts in drink driving law will be able to examine your case from all angles. The prudent course of action, though, will be to plan appropriately for December parties so you can make merry this season without incurring a legal headache or worse in the new year.
