Drink Driving

The law

Driving with alcohol above the legal limit is a serious offence.

The current levels are:

• 35 micrograms per 100 milliliters of breath
• 80 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood
• 107 milligrams per 100 milliliters of urine

It is impossible to say how many drinks this equates to.

There are a number of factors which could influence the effect of alcohol such as:

• your weight,
• your age,
• your sex,
• your metabolism,
• the type and amount of alcohol consumed,
• what you have eaten.

The Defences

There are a number of defences which could be raised; for example:

• Demonstrating that you were not the driver;
• Denying you were driving on a road or in a public place;
• Arguing that you consumed the alcohol after you had stopped driving;
• Questioning the credibility of the police evidence.

If your defence does not succeed or you plead guilty to the offence of drink driving you may be able to argue ‘special reasons’ for the Court not to disqualify you.

Possible examples of ‘special reasons’ are, although courts are extremely reluctant to accept them:

• Your drinks were laced without your knowledge and you did not realise that you were over the legal limit;
• You were driving in an emergency and had no other choice;
• You only drove a short distance and did not put any other road users at risk.

The Sentence

The Magistrates will follow their sentencing guidelines as a starting point. Drink Driving almost always will mean that you may be banned for a certain period of time. However there are Drink Awareness Courses which you could partake in to reduce the period of disqualification.

How Berri’s Law Can Help?

We are able to offer clients initial advice as well as representation in court in relation to drink driving cases.

We are here to help you whether you are:

• Looking to plead not guilty and put forward a defence,
• Advance a ‘special reasons’ argument to avoid a driving disqualification, or
• Present the best possible mitigation to the court. This could make the difference between a custodial sentence or a community penalty. In all cases we would submit to the court that you undertake the drink driver awareness scheme which once completed reduces any period of disqualification imposed by 25%.