A drink driving conviction carries mandatory disqualification of at least 12 months. The court has no discretion to avoid it other than in narrowly defined circumstances.
That makes this different from most motoring offences. Mitigation alone will not keep your licence. Either there is a defence, or there is a special reasons argument, or you will be disqualified.
Which is precisely why the technical detail of how the evidence was obtained matters so much.
The offences
Driving or attempting to drive over the limit
| Sample | Limit |
|---|---|
| Breath | 35 microgrammes per 100 millilitres |
| Blood | 80 milligrammes per 100 millilitres |
| Urine | 107 milligrammes per 100 millilitres |
In charge while over the limit
Section 5(1)(b). You were not driving, but you were in charge of the vehicle — sitting in it, or holding the keys with the ability to drive.
Penalties are lower: 10 points or discretionary disqualification. There is a statutory defence if you can show there was no likelihood of you driving while over the limit — which turns on where you were, what you intended, and what the evidence shows.
Failing to provide a specimen
Section 7. Refusing or failing to provide breath, blood or urine without reasonable excuse. Penalties are comparable to driving over the limit, including mandatory disqualification.
Courts take this seriously precisely because it prevents the evidence being obtained. A reasonable excuse must generally be a physical or mental inability to provide — a genuine phobia of needles supported by medical evidence, or a respiratory condition preventing an adequate breath sample. Simply not wanting to is not a reasonable excuse.
Drug driving
There is a statutory medical defence where a prescription medicine was taken in accordance with instructions. It must be raised properly and evidenced.
Where drink driving cases are actually won
Most successful outcomes turn on procedure and evidence rather than on the driving itself.
The breath testing procedure
Evidential breath testing follows a defined statutory procedure. Points that arise:
- Was the device an approved type, and was it properly calibrated? Calibration records are disclosable.
- Were two specimens taken, and was the lower used?
- Was the required 20-minute observation period observed before the specimen?
- Were the statutory warnings given correctly?
Departures from procedure do not automatically defeat a prosecution, but material failures can.
The option to replace a specimen
Blood samples
Was the sample taken by a medical practitioner or healthcare professional? Was it divided and was a portion offered to you? Was it stored and transported properly? Was the chain of continuity maintained?
The hip flask defence
Where alcohol was consumed after driving but before the specimen — the classic scenario being a drink taken at home after a collision. Establishing it requires expert back-calculation evidence, and it must be raised early.
Was there driving at all?
The prosecution must prove you drove or attempted to drive on a road or other public place. Private land is not always a public place, and identity of the driver is sometimes genuinely in issue.
Special reasons
Where there is no defence, a special reasons argument may allow the court to avoid disqualification despite the mandatory requirement.
The circumstance must relate to the offence rather than to you personally, must not amount to a defence in law, and must be one the court can properly take into account.
Laced drinks. Your drink was spiked or fortified without your knowledge, and you would have been under the limit otherwise. Requires expert evidence on the calculation and evidence you did not realise.
Shortness of distance driven. A very short distance, in circumstances where little or no danger arose to others. The court considers how far, why, the road conditions, and whether anyone was put at risk.
Emergency. A genuine emergency where there was no reasonable alternative to driving. The court examines whether alternatives existed — a taxi, an ambulance, another driver — and this is where most emergency arguments fail.
These arguments are technical, evidence-dependent, and require you to give evidence and be cross-examined. Prepared properly, they succeed. Advanced on assertion alone, they do not.
If you are going to be convicted
Where the evidence is strong and there is no special reasons argument, the work shifts to limiting the damage.
The Drink Drive Rehabilitation Scheme. Where the disqualification is 12 months or more, the court may offer a course which, if completed, reduces the ban by up to a quarter. On a 12-month ban that is roughly three months. Always ask for it — courts do not always offer it unprompted.
Mitigation. Personal circumstances, the reason for driving, remorse, steps taken since, and the effect of disqualification. This does not avoid the ban but affects its length and the fine.
Sentence banding. Guidelines band sentences by reading. The higher the reading, the longer the disqualification, with community orders and custody at the top end. Where the reading is near a band boundary, the argument is worth making.
Our fees
| Service | Fee | VAT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial consultation and review | Fixed Fee — please contact us for a quote | Fixed Fee — please contact us for a quote | Fixed Fee — please contact us for a quote |
| Guilty plea and mitigation, Magistrates' Court | Fixed Fee — please contact us for a quote | Fixed Fee — please contact us for a quote | Fixed Fee — please contact us for a quote |
| Special reasons argument | Fixed Fee — please contact us for a quote | Fixed Fee — please contact us for a quote | Fixed Fee — please contact us for a quote |
| Contested trial, Magistrates' Court | Fixed Fee — please contact us for a quote | Fixed Fee — please contact us for a quote | Fixed Fee — please contact us for a quote |
Disbursements: expert evidence on back-calculation or device calibration Fixed Fee — please contact us for a quote; counsel's fees where instructed.
Not included: fines, prosecution costs, victim surcharge.
Frequently asked questions
Will I definitely lose my licence? On conviction for driving over the limit, yes — disqualification is mandatory for at least 12 months. The exceptions are a successful defence or a successful special reasons argument.
Can I drive to work if I need my licence for my job? No. Unlike totting-up cases, exceptional hardship does not apply to mandatory disqualification for drink driving. Employment consequences are mitigation on length, not a route to keeping the licence.
I was only just over the limit. Does that help? It affects the length of disqualification and the level of fine, because guidelines band by reading. It does not avoid disqualification. A reading close to the limit does make procedural challenges more significant, since a small evidential error can matter more.
What if I was not actually driving? Then the offence may be "in charge" rather than driving, which carries lower penalties and has a statutory defence where there was no likelihood of driving. Tell us exactly where you were and what you intended.
How long will the case take? A guilty plea can conclude at the first hearing. A contested case typically takes several months, sometimes longer where expert evidence is required.
Is it worth getting a solicitor if I am pleading guilty? Often yes. Sentencing bands, the rehabilitation course, the credit for plea, and properly presented mitigation can make a material difference to the length of the ban and the size of the fine.
What about my insurance afterwards? A drink driving conviction stays on your licence for 11 years and must be declared. Premiums increase substantially, and some insurers decline cover entirely.
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