At the weekend i was arrested at my home. i had been out
with a friend in a club, i had a couple of drinks, but went
onto water. went back to friends house, with two people he
had met. next thing a knew was being arrested in my house.,
for crashing into a car and leaving car in street. i cannot
recall anything that happened at all, the last thing i
remember is being in the house. I have never been in any
trouble before, i would never get in my car and drive,
however i was seen hanging over my steering well after the
crash. i still cannot remember anything; I got blood taken
and since being home felt ill slurring my words, and
collapsing. This is not me. i think my drink might have been
spiked what should i do?
Take this into one of our offices immediately and we will
have it analysed by a forensic expert for traces of drugs.
Meanwhile report your symptoms to your GP and find out from
friends and family who was with you when your drink was
spiked. This is an incredibly difficult defence to make out
as the court are concerned that "The floodgates" could open
if easily made. Certain tests have to be met by the defence
in establishing this defence such as:- there must be
evidence of drugs being present and evidence of "spiking"
I
was involved in an accident on wednesday morning in
newton-stewart. I had been drinking the night before but
thought i was ok the next morning.my breath sample was 45.i
was charged and bailed to appear before the sheriff in
stranraer on the 6/12/06
We need to check that all the proper procedures were
carried otherwise you will lose your licence. It is not
a defence that you believed you were under the limit. A
mimimum sentence of disqualification of 1 year is
possible although it could be higher depending upon the
facts and circumstances of your case and whether you
have been convicted for drink driving in the last 10
years. If we find that an essential procedure was not
carried out by the police then we may be able to save
your licence.
i have been charged with being in a car over the legal
limit, i have 8 point already ! do you think i will recieve
a sentence or a ban and fine ?
I assume that you have been charged with being in charge
of the vehicle whilst over the legal limit and the
answer to your question is that you will most probably
be banned and would also receive a fine. If you had no
intention to drive then you should defend your case and
provide any evidence to the court to show that there was
no intention to drive.
The police stopped me in Cadogan Street Glasgow last night
and breathalysed me. Are they allowed to just stop me for no
reason and do this? They took me to Stewart St police office
and breathalysed me then gave me a till receipt type thing
with a reading of 49. Will I lose my licence?
Quite a few questions there! Yes the police can just
stop you. They will explain the reason later but they
will also, no doubt, state that when they spoke to you
they could smell alchohol from you and they suspected
drink driving, therefore they can act on it. We assume
you were breathalysed at the car then arrested and taken
to police office for further breath analysis. If the
reading is over the limit of 35 microgrammes of alcohol
per 100 millilitres of breath or 80 milligrams of alcohol
per 100 millilitres of blood then you are charged and
usually given a pink A4 sheet called a "Bail Undertaking"
(Police Bail) to attend court on a given date and time. You
should contact us now for further advise and assistance. We
can check out the test procedures etc and make sure that
everything has been carried properly otherwise you face a
mandatory disqualification from driving for at least 1 year
I was detained for drink driving over the Xmas period. I had
a few at an office party and stupidly drove home. I do not
think I was over the limit as I only had 3 pints in 4 hours.
When I got to the police office i refused to provide a test
until my solicitor was there. I do not have a solicitor i
just said this to delay matters. The police said i was being
stupid and charged me with Failing to Provide a sample. I
told them i was NOT failing to provide but wanted my lawyer.
Can they do this and am I likely to get banned.
Yes, they can do this. You have no right to await the
attendance of a solicitor or anyone else. The court is
likely to take the view that you had been drink driving
and that his is why you delayed/ refused the sample
procedure, Normally you can expect to be disqualified in
such circumstances but all is not lost. Contact us as
soon as possible for further assistance.
I was recently taken to a police office and they asked me to
provide a breath sample. I tried to do so but you have to
blow into their machine for ages and I could not do it. The
print out said "invalid" The police have still charged me
with failing to provide and say I can I lose my licence. Is
this right?
Yes you can. If the Police are acting within their
powers and you refuse/fail to provide a sample of breath
at the scene with no good cause, you commit an offence
of failing to provide a sample. This does not carry a
mandatory disqualification. If you refuse to provide the
2 samples at the police station, you commit the further
offence of failing to provide a sample for analysis.
This carries a mandatory disqualification just as if you
had provided a positive sample. If you refuse, or simply
fail to provide, at the scene and are then found to be
well under at the police station, you still commit the
offence of failing to provide a proper sample of breath
at the scene but will not usually be disqualified. If
there is a medical reason for your failure such as
Asthma you must provide evidence of this at your trial.
This will provide the defence of having a good reason
and should result in acquital. Again you should seek
legal assistance with this defence as it can be
difficult to make out.
I was charged with drink driving and the police said I will
get a three year ban. How do they know his and is it right?
If you have been disqualified for a drink driving
offence within the last 10 years then it is correct that
you will receive a minimum of three year ban. Depending
on the level of alcohol in your system and the
circumstances of the offence you could face a higher
disqualification
The police charged me with drink driving having come to my
house at New Year and claimed that I had been seen leaving
my car in a drunken state. I did not want to tell them that
this had been my son so said nothing at all. I was over the
limit as I had been at home and had been drinking. Will I get
done?
If the drivers identity is accepted by the Sheriff then
it would be accepted that you had committed no offence.
The procurator may well make good use of the fact that
you did not say at the time of offence that another
person committed the offence and that you have now
conveniently made up this defence. You will need a
skilled solicitor to present you case and incriminate
your son. Your son can be called as a witness for you.
The Sheriff will give him a warning that he need not say
anything that need inciminate himself and he would do
well to heed the warning. If any other persons saw your
son return hme that night then you should cite them as
defence witnesses. Do not expect the court to simply
accept your explanation without good evidence.
I was recently breathalysed and found to have a reading of
49. The police did not offer a blood or urine test -Do I
have a defence?
Yes, you have a defence but your solicitor will require
to check certain forms that will be lodged in court
regarding the case procedure and speak to the police
regarding what occurred at the test. The bottom line
however is that if your reading is 50 or less then you
should have been offered blood or urine test.
I was stopped last night & charged with drink driving. The
sample I supplied gave a ready of 79. I have no other
driving offences of this nature . What penalty can I expect
?. Please can you also tell me how significant it is that on
pink discharge sform, the Police have the wrong name,
(specifically they have written my middle name incorrectly).
Please advise, thank you in advance.
Expect a 12 month to 24 month ban. You are more than two
times the limit and many Sheriffs take the view that
this level should attract more the mandatory minimum
(12months) The pink "Discharge Form" is actually a bail
form setting out your police bail terms and giving a
date for you to attend court. The middle name issue is
of no significance I am afraid.
I was recently done for drink driving after a night out in
aberdeen (i'm from glasgow). My cars clutch had gave way
earlier that day and was not movable. After the night out i
was walking around to find a taxi and stumbled accross my
car, i sat inside it and put the heating on. The police
drove by and arrsested me for attempting to drive whilst
drunk, even though i knew the car couldn't drive. They
accuse me of trying to drive anyway. Do i have a defence?
You would have been charged with being drunk in charge
of the vehicle and could still expect to be disqualified
if convicted. Get your car clutch checked immediately by
a reputable mechanic and ensure they know that they may
require to give evidence. Perhaps your vehicle was
recovered by a rescue service- Let your lawyer know who
and when to enable the person who eventually moved your
car to be traced and cited as a defence witness. You
have a strong defence and should plead not guilty. If we
can assist you should not hesitate to call 0800 612 9597
Hi, I have been arrested for drink driving on 21/12/2007. I
am going to court on 10/01/2008. (I had a reading of 0.75) I
would like to know if I can pleed not guilty, and what the
consequences would be. The idea is that I would like to
postpone the court decision so that I can do arrangements
before I get my licence taken away. Will it work ? Will I
get in even greater trouble ? Thank you for your answer.
You can ask the court to continue your case without plea
for 3 weeks to enable you to put your affairs in order.
Alternatively you can plead Not Guilty and have a date
set for trial and Intermediate Diet. The court will
always discount an early plea therefore if you plead at
the outset they will reduce the monetary element of the
sentence by 1/3rd. If you plead at Intermediate Diet
many Sheriffs apply the full discount. If you wait until
trial and inconvenience witnesses and the court then NO
DISCOUNT will be applied however no EXTRA punishment is meated out. Unfortunately a mandatory minimum ban must
be imposed of 12 months. Since your reading was 75mg
(>Twice the limit you may expect a higher period of
disqualification.) It may be worth your while
instructing us to investigate the case against you and
see if a technical defence could be presented. We would
then plead not guilty and receive the P.F.s case
summary, carry out some further enquiries and advise you
further. Much will depend upon who the Sheriff is, what
court the case calls in and who represents you. If you
require our further assistance please call 0800 612 9597
roadtrafficlaw.com
