Drink Driving Defence
What is Drink Driving Defence?
Drink driving is the offence of driving, or attempting to drive, with alcohol above the prescribed limit in breath, blood, or urine. The limit applies regardless of impairment. The offence is tried in the Magistrates' Court. Disqualification is mandatory on conviction.
For most people charged with drink driving, the real worry is the licence, and often the job that depends on it. A conviction brings a ban, but a charge is not the end of the matter: the reading and the procedure used to obtain it can both be examined. That is worth doing before any plea is entered.
Disqualification
For most people, the licence is what the case is about.
Whether there is anything to argue usually comes down to the reading and how the procedure was followed at the station.
How a drink driving case proceeds
It usually starts with a roadside breath test. A positive test leads to arrest and a further, formal specimen at the police station, taken on approved equipment. If that reading is unreliable, a blood or urine sample may be taken instead.
You are normally charged before leaving the station and given a date at the Magistrates’ Court, where these cases are heard. A conviction brings a disqualification, so for most people the licence is what the case is really about.
How the defence is built
Because the offence does not depend on whether you felt impaired, a defence usually turns on procedure and science rather than on how you were driving. The question is whether the station followed the correct steps and whether the reading can be relied on.
There are recognised arguments in the right case: that alcohol was taken after driving had ended, that the equipment was not working properly, or that a medical condition affected the result. Where the offence is made out but the circumstances were genuinely exceptional, a special reasons argument can ask the court not to disqualify.
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Common questions
- My reading was over the limit — is there any point getting advice?
- Yes. The offence depends on the reading and on the procedure used to obtain it, and both can be examined. A reading over the limit does not always mean the case is unanswerable.
- Can I avoid a disqualification?
- On conviction a disqualification is the normal outcome and usually cannot be avoided. The exception is a special reasons argument, which asks the court not to disqualify where the circumstances of the offence are genuinely exceptional. Whether it is realistic depends on the facts.
- What if I refused to give a sample?
- Failing to provide a specimen without a reasonable excuse is a separate offence, treated as seriously as driving over the limit and sometimes more so. Whether there was a reasonable excuse is itself something that can be argued.
- What happens at the police station?
- After a positive roadside test you are taken to the station for a formal specimen on approved equipment. How that procedure is carried out is often central to the case, which is why advice at that stage matters.
Astons Law Chambers is authorised under the Bar Standards Board's Public Access scheme to accept instructions directly from members of the public. The practice is also authorised to conduct litigation, so the case can be run end-to-end without a separate solicitor. Suitability is assessed during the first call; where a solicitor is needed, Astons Law Chambers will say so and refer where useful.
For matters that qualify for public funding, see how legal aid works at Astons Law Chambers — eligible cases are referred to a partner solicitor firm at no cost.
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