Should you be legally represented for a drink driving offence?

Drink driving offences carry serious drink driving penalties. If you are convicted of a drink driving offence, you will face significant legal consequences and lifestyle changes. Therefore it is highly advisable that you obtain legal advice from a specialist solicitor if you are arrested or charged with a drink driving offence. A solicitor will be necessary to provide you with legal advice in order to obtain the best possible outcome, and to represent you in court if necessary. You may not avoid any drink driving penalties, but the severity of them may be reduced, as a court has a range of drink driving penalties that it can choose to impose. A solicitor will also be responsible for appointing a barrister to represent you in court if one is required.
To understand why legal representation by a solicitor is absolutely necessary, we will look at the drink driving penalties you may face if convicted of a drink driving offence. If you are charged with causing death by careless driving under the influence of drink or drugs, you can be sentenced to a prison sentence of up to 14 years. In addition, you could face an unlimited fine and be disqualified from driving for a minimum of two years. You will need to retake your driving test before you are allowed back behind the wheel. As you can see from the severity of these drink driving penalties, legal representation from a solicitor will be necessary if you are charged with this offence.

Another drink driving offence is the offence of driving or attempting to drive while unfit through drink or drugs or with an excess of alcohol. If convicted of this offence you may face up to six months in prison in addition to a fine of up to £5,000. You will also be automatically disqualified for a period of between 12 and 36 months.

It is also possible to be convicted of a drink driving offence even if you were not driving the car at the time of your arrest. The offence of being in charge of a vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs or in excess of alcohol can be committed if you attempt to take control of a vehicle, if you have the keys to the vehicle, if you have recently driven the vehicle, or if you attempt to gain access to the vehicle and fail.

For further legal advice on drink driving offences and their associated drink driving penalties, you are advised to contact a specialist solicitor as soon as possible.