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How to get off a Drink Driving Charge

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The consequences of a drink driving charge can be extremely serious. Therefore, it’s only understandable that you may be wondering how to get off a drink driving charge if you find yourself in such a situation.

While you should not expect there to be any legal loopholes or methods which enable you to avoid being charged for drink driving (especially if a compelling case has been built against you), working with a specialist in these types of charges can help to ensure you have the strongest possible defence.

We discuss how you might avoid a drink driving charge in the following article, the potential penalties you could face and the possible defences that may be available.

While we hope this information is useful, please note that it should not be taken as legal advice. If you need detailed advice about your case, please get in touch and our team can advise you.

Is drink driving an instant ban?

Yes, if you are found guilty of drink driving, this carries an automatic driving disqualification of at least 12 months. The period of disqualification will be extended to three years if you have received a previous conviction for drink driving in the previous 10 years.

In some cases, the court may be prepared to offer a “Drink Drive Rehabilitation Course” as an alternative drink driving charge. This could result in up to a quarter of a period of disqualification being taken off.

How long is a drink driving ban?

As mentioned above, the ban length for drink driving will be a minimum ban of 12 months, or 36 months if you have received a previous drink driving conviction in the past 10 years.

Can you go to prison for drink driving?

Yes, you could face a prison sentence in addition to being banned for drink driving. The maximum prison sentence you could receive for drink driving is six months’ imprisonment.

How do you get off a drink driving charge?

There is no automatic way to ‘get off’ a drink driving charge, especially if there is evidence to prove that you were under the influence of alcohol while driving a car (such as the results of a breathalyser).

However, an experienced criminal defence solicitor will be able to carefully review the circumstances of your case, including any potential defences which will help you to avoid charges, or receive a reduced penalty if conviction is unavoidable.

Potential defences which could be used to help you avoid a drink driving charge include:

  • The correct procedures were followed by the police when arresting you or requesting a sample
  • You had a reasonable excuse for failing to provide a sample (e.g. a medical reason)
  • There was a genuine and unavoidable reason for driving under the influence of alcohol (e.g. for a medical emergency)
  • You had no reason to suspect you were driving under the influence of alcohol (e.g. you were spiked or served alcohol without knowing)

Utilising these types of defences can be complex and does not necessarily guarantee that you will be able to avoid a drink driving charge altogether. Having the support of a specialist drink driving solicitor is essential.

What should you do if you are accused of drink driving?

Drink driving is treated extremely seriously, and, as discussed, avoiding a drink driving ban can be challenging if you do not receive the right legal advice.

At JD Spicer Zeb, our specialist criminal defence solicitors have over 45 years of experience in handling a wide range of criminal cases, including those involving drink driving. Our expertise ensures that we will know what is required to build the strongest possible defence for your case, what a positive outcome will look like and what it will take to achieve this. Whether this means having charges dropped or having a sentence reduced will depend on the circumstances of the case.

We regularly deal with all forms of evidence relied on in drink-driving cases, including forensics and the results of a breathalyser. We have the knowledge and tools at our disposal to build a strong defence case and identify any flaws in the procedures followed and the case being presented against you.

We have been accredited by the Law Society for Criminal Litigation. This highlights our strong track record of previous success. We have also established strong relationships with many of the country’s leading criminal defence barristers, meaning that you will receive the highest standard of representation if a case ever proceeds to court.

Related matters

We provide support and guidance on various related matters, including:

Related cases

Fees and funding

We understand the importance of being transparent when it comes to fees and funding options.

Legal aid may be available for your case, depending on whether it passes a means test and whether the grant of public funding is justified.

Where you do not qualify for legal aid, the alternative will be to fund the case on a private basis.

To find out more about the way we handle fees (both legal aid public funding and private fees) for drink driving charges, please use the links provided below:

Contact our drink driving lawyers today

If you are due to attend the police station, require any urgent specialist advice, or immediate representation for a drink a drink driving charge, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

You can contact our dedicated criminal defence lawyers in London, Birmingham, and Manchester by telephone at:

Or email: solicitors@jdspicer.co.uk

Alternatively, you can fill out our quick online enquiry form, and we will get back to you quickly.

24/7 legal representation for drink driving

We are available to represent clients all over England and Wales at any time, so please contact our Emergency Number at 07836 577 556.

How can we help?

Common questions

We always work with the most experienced and best leading UK barristers, KCs (Kings Counsel). We cover all criminal cases 24/7 at the police station and court. Offices in London, Birmingham, and Manchester cover cases across England and Wales. We can offer Legal Aid and affordable Private fee agreements. We can see you the same day, including virtually. Our Senior Partners supervise all of our cases.

How quickly do you respond?

We respond quickly even during out of hours. We do not get our work by paying for online adverts but based on the fact that few criminal law firms can match our 45 years of experience. Most of our cases are still from word-of-mouth recommendations from satisfied clients. We are called daily by dissatisfied clients from firms with less experience than us. We respond very quickly to new enquiries. We know what clients seek and so we update clients rapidly.

Can you get cases dropped?

Yes, read about the recent cases we've helped our clients with here.

We always keep you updated and give straightforward advice. We will get cases dropped early where the case is weak or should not be prosecuted. We will be upfront with you about where you can benefit from a good result with an early guilty plea, such as a discount on your sentence. As we work on cases across all levels with clients from all walks of life, we are excellent at giving clear, spot-on advice. As an established firm, we can allocate a whole team to your case often at short notice to secure evidence to minimise the damage to you. 

Have you won any awards?

OUR PROFESSIONAL BODY THE LAW SOCIETY AWARDED US IN OCTOBER 2020 WITH THE EXCELLENCE IN CLIENT SERVICE AWARD AND STATED - 

"JD Spicer Zeb demonstrated a clear commitment to client service through their work with vulnerable and diverse individuals in what can be severely traumatic circumstances".

Do you offer free consultations?

Where it is possible, we aim to provide an initial consultation to you. If we can speak to you, we can if required inform you about  –

  • Whether we can take the case on and our relevant experience.
  • Public and private funding benefits.
  • Assistance in applying for legal aid where we are likely to accept instructions.
  • An outline of options in police interview only. We will not advise you on which option to adopt.
  • Providing our free written guide explaining the police station process.
  • The gravity of routine and day-to-day offences you face.
  • Consequences of not attending the court or police station.
  • Consequences of interfering with any witnesses.
  • Retaining any evidence in support of your case.
  • If possible an outline of the elements of the offence that the police or CPS must prove.
  • This consultation will normally be by telephone or email and will only be for as long as we deem necessary to establish if we can act for you. If we cannot usefully give you any advice in this manner then we will not continue with the consultation. We will not discuss the case in depth for you to be able to decide on your plea or any significant aspect of the case, as this cannot be undertaken informally.
  • Referring you, if possible, to other firms for matters out of our specialism or if we cannot help.

Consultations do not apply to the following cases –

  • If we do not intend to take the case on.
  • Road Traffic cases, drink driving, drug driving, driving bans, speeding, no insurance, mobile phone use, points etc.
  • In all cases where we do not have the capacity to take your case or the availability of suitably qualified staff to provide an initial free consultation. This is applicable in all cases but especially where a more senior lawyer is required because of your personal needs or the complexity of the case.
  • Harassment/stalking/ coercive behaviour/malicious communications or road traffic cases and most sensitive cases. These cases are often too complicated to assess in short consultations.
  • The locations concerned may be too distant to represent you adequately or it may not be cost-effective for you or us.
  • The case is too complicated to assess or raises various charges or facts, complexity, or history to be considered informally or in a short consultation.
  • In most Legal aid transfers where legal aid is granted to another firm except in very grave cases, we may assess the case and merits for a transfer.
  • If your relationship has broken down with your existing solicitor or several solicitors.
  • If you have been released under investigation and have already had a police station attendance. 
  • If you hold legal aid with another firm and seek a second opinion.
  • If you are calling on behalf of the client as a friend or family member unless you have full authority and full facts.
  • To businesses.
  • Advising whether you were given good advice by your other solicitor.
  • Whether to decide to plead guilty or not guilty.
  • Whether you have an arguable defence in law or factually complicated defences.
  • Any advice you have had after your first court appearance.
  • Any advice on appeal on conviction or sentence.
  • If we feel we are unable to communicate with you.
  • If we are likely to be conflicted or breach our professional rules.