Drink driving is considered an absolute offence in the UK - this means it is very difficult to dispute and carries a significant penalty for drivers who are caught over the limit. If you are prosecuted with drink driving, the court will not allocate penalty points to your driving licence; instead, you will receive an immediate driving ban for a minimum of 12 months. If the court finds that you have been prosecuted for another driving ban within the last 10 years, your disqualification could last for 36 months.

In the following guide, the motoring experts at JMW explain the full extent of the penalties you could face for drink driving, what will happen after you are caught and what you should do if you are being charged.

What are the penalties for drink driving offences?

The penalties for drink driving offences are severe. If you are found to be over the legal limit when driving, or even attempt to drive - - you can expect:

●  Unlimited

●  An immediate disqualification

●  Community order

●  Up to six months in prison

The severity of your penalties will depend on how far over the limit you were when you committed the offence. For help understanding what penalty you could be facing, use our drink driving penalty calculator.

Drink driving offences are often associated with other offences; depending on your actions, you could also be charged for careless driving or speeding. Any additional offences that you commit can massively increase your penalties, leading to an already significant charge becoming even more so.

What happens when you are caught drink driving?

If you are pulled over by the police and are asked to do a test, you will either be expected to do your test on the roadside or be taken to the police station for it.

When you take a test, you will need to provide either a breath, blood or urine sample. If you are found to be over the limit, you will be arrested and taken to the police station, where another test will be carried out. You should make sure to comply with the police.

What should you do if you are charged with drink driving?

Before you make any decisions in relation to the suspected drink driving offence, you should agree to take a test at the police station and speak to an expert motoring offences solicitor - such as those at JMW - as soon as you are able to. Drink driving offences are serious and motoring law is complex; any mistakes you make while dealing with the process will be irreversible and costly. Therefore, you should ensure that you enlist the help of a professional solicitor who can guide you through the process and help you to make decisions based on your unique situation.

When you first contact us, we will assess your circumstances and the evidence of your offence. From here, we will be able to advise you on your options. If the police already has a strong reading that shows you were over the legal alcohol limit, it may be difficult to acquit you completely, but there are a number of ways we can attempt to reduce your penalties.

Some examples of methods we may use to defend you in court include:

• Police procedure - the police are required to follow specific procedures when testing you for alcohol. Provided you were compliant, if the police acted against their required procedure, we may be able to argue that you were treated incorrectly or were coerced. We will also assess whether the equipment they used was faulty or used in the wrong way. Albeit these arguments are difficult to challenge
• Police procedure in hospital - if you were injured in an accident and the police tested you in hospital, the police may fail to follow the correct procedures, which they are required to follow by law

In some cases, it may be best for you to plead guilty to your offence; failing to defend against a driving offence in court will result in your penalties becoming even more severe. If we find that the police have strong evidence against you, it may not be worth attempting to mount a defence that has a low chance of success. Instead, there may be more benefits to accepting your charges and you can resume your life.

If you do decide to dispute your charges, we will help you to identify sources of useful evidence and compile them. We can do this by facilitating experts in medicine, psychology and toxicology. When it comes time to put your argument forward in court, you will be expected to attend but we will represent you, presenting your argument and the supporting evidence we have compiled.

Talk to Us

For more information on how our motoring law experts can help you, call JMW Solicitors today on 0345 872 6666, or fill out an online contact form and we will contact you at the time you specify.