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Drink Driving Offences Solicitors

In today’s fast-paced world, your driving licence is essential. If you or someone you know has been arrested for, charged with or convicted for a drink driving offence, you will need urgent legal advice to help you reduce the impact on your life.

At Nelson Guest & Partners, we can offer you:

  • A friendly, understanding service from a team of criminal defence specialists
  • Expert legal defence at the police station, during investigations and at court
  • Appeals advice if you have already been convicted
  • Clear information about our driving offences fees, so you always know where you stand in terms of costs

Drink driving is a serious criminal offence and penalties for conviction could include a driving ban, unlimited fine and a prison sentence ranging from 3 months (for being in charge of a vehicle while above the legal limit or unfit through drink), through to a possible 14 years’ imprisonment (for causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink).

Any conviction will result in a criminal record and life problems, such as the loss of your job, difficulty finding work, difficulties getting car insurance and being unable to travel to some countries such as the USA. Not to mention the impact this could have on your family, friends and professional reputation.

Since so much is at stake, it is vital you enlist the help of a solicitor specialising in drink driving.

Talk to our drink driving solicitors in London

We have an excellent record in securing the best possible results for our clients, ranging from criminal legal action being dropped altogether, to reduced sentences, to absolute acquittals (‘not guilty’ verdicts).

Having one of our drink driving offence solicitors on your side could be the difference between keeping or losing your driving licence, and in more serious cases preventing prison sentences.

Even if you have already been convicted, there may be grounds where you can appeal your sentence to either have it reversed or reduced. If you have been sentenced for drink driving, or any other driving offence, within the past 21 days and feel the sentence you received was unfair, then contact us immediately to discuss your case and the likelihood of lodging an appeal.​

If you need help with your case from a London drink driving lawyer, call the experts on 020 8309 5010 or use our contact form.

How our drink driving offence solicitors can help you

We can assist with all drink driving offences, providing strong representation at the police station, during criminal investigations and at court. Below are some of the kinds of offences we can help with:

We can also provide advice about other ‘impairment’ driving offences, such as drug driving.

Police station representation

If you are arrested or invited to the police station for a voluntary interview under caution (or someone you know has been), call us at Nelson Guest & Partners as soon as possible.

Having legal advice as early on as possible is very important. What happens at the police station is usually the most critical part of a criminal case – drink driving is one of the few crimes where you have to provide a sample when asked (such as doing a breathalyser test or providing a sample of urine or blood). Refusing to provide a sample is a criminal offence in itself, but you still have legal rights, and the police must follow the proper processes.

Depending on the circumstances of your drink driving case, the police may also ask you questions and try to gather enough evidence to charge you or refer your case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for a charging decision.

Your solicitor can make sure that your legal rights are respected and advise you on how to answer the police’s questions to reduce the seriousness of the situation as much as possible.

Criminal investigations advice

If you have been released under investigation or on bail while the police carry out a criminal investigation, contact us for advice.

We know that this stage of the process can be stressful – being arrested is a scary experience, there is a lot of uncertainty about whether you will be charged, and you may be under strict bail restrictions such as to go back to the police station at a certain date for the results of a blood or urine test.

You might think that your only option during this time is to wait for the police to finish their investigation, but there are things you can do to help the situation.

Our friendly, specialist drink driving solicitors can support you during this time, providing clear advice about the criminal process, ensuring that the investigation is moved along as quickly as possible and that your legal rights are being respected. We can also help you prepare for court hearings.

If you are invited back to the police station for further interview, you should also make sure that you have one of our solicitors to come with you.

Court defence

If you have an upcoming court hearing or need urgent representation in court, our team can travel to your side to assist you.

Our team includes highly experienced court advocates who can defend you at all court levels, including the Magistrates’ Court, Crown Court, Youth Court and appeal courts. We also work closely with specialist criminal defence barristers, whom we can instruct to defend you on your behalf.

Criminal appeals

If you have been convicted of a drink driving offence within the last 21 days, get in touch with us for practical help about lodging an appeal.

We know just how frightening and frustrating it is to be wrongly or unfairly convicted or sentenced for a driving offence. Perhaps you did not have legal help at the trial, or perhaps your previous lawyer was not a specialist in drink driving cases.

Whatever the circumstances, you can trust us to be honest about your chances of making a successful appeal against your conviction or sentence, and help you build the strongest possible appeal. We have built a strong professional reputation on succeeding even where others have failed.

What are the penalties for drink driving offences?

If convicted of a drink driving offence, the penalty you get will depend on factors such as the seriousness of the offence and whether you have any previous convictions.

The penalties could include a fine, a community order, a driving ban, or a prison sentence in the most serious cases.

See a range of UK drink driving penalties here.

Do you always get a driving ban for drink driving?

Drink driving offences usually result in an ‘obligatory disqualification’. This means that the court has to ban you from driving for at least 12 months, even if you would suffer hardship such as losing your job or being stopped from visiting your children.

It is not usually possible to argue ‘exceptional hardship’ to avoid a drink driving ban. However, you may be able to argue that there were ‘special reasons’ for the offence, for example, your drink was spiked or there was an emergency. If you can prove there were special reasons, you may be able to avoid a driving ban.

It is vital to speak to a legal specialist to get advice about your options because it is challenging to convince a court that there were special reasons for the driving offence and the prosecution will likely fight against it.

Our motoring offences fees

We can take most drink driving cases on a private fixed fee basis to cover work during all stages of the process, including police station advice, during investigations and for court representation.

This way, you always know where you stand in terms of costs and do not have to worry about unexpected legal fees.

For information about our fixed fees and the work they cover, visit our Road Traffic Offences Fees page.

If you have any questions about our fees or would like a quote, please get in touch for a confidential, no-obligation discussion.

Get in touch with our drink driving solicitors in London

If you need help with your case from a London drink driving lawyer, call the experts on 020 8309 5010 or use our contact form.