Disqualified driving – ‘Totting up’
If you have been driving for under two years, and you are caught speeding, your licence will be endorsed with a minimum of three points. If this happens again, and the points add up to six, you will lose your license and have to retake your driving test to regain…
Drink Drive Law – Public Place
I recently appeared at Worthing Magistrates Court on behalf of a client accused of a drink/driving offence. The legal limit for driving while intoxicated through drink is 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, with a 5-point margin of error; at 40, a conviction follows. A high reading…
Drug Driving And Medical Advice
Medical evidence and ‘drug driving’ under the new law coming into force in March 2015 The Drug Review of drink and drug driving law by Sir Peter North confirmed that there is a significant drug driving problem in Great Britain. Currently, police have to show that drugs have impaired a…
Drug Driving
‘Drug Driving’ This is one of a series of blogs in relation to a statutory instrument that comes into force on 2nd March 2015, entitled Drug Driving (Specified Limits) (England and Wales) Regulations 2014. It’s a fairly innocuous sounding piece of subordinate legislation, but I am sure it is going…
Drunk Driving; New Developments
Driving under the influence of drugs is an offence under the Road Traffic Act, with similar penalties to drink driving. However, there are no defined limits or levels of drugs, in the same way as drink in drink driving. That is set to change soon, on 2nd March 2015, in…
Drink drive/ ‘in charge’
There is an important distinction between excess alcohol whilst driving, and excess alcohol whilst “in charge” of a vehicle. The distinction becomes clear when looking at the sentencing guidelines. The emphasis in the guidelines when it is a case of “in charge” is on imposing penalty points rather than disqualifying….
Drink driving – sentencing guidelines
When you search the Internet for legal representation, there is a natural tendency to opt for someone local, especially when you are looking for quality representation by a solicitor or barrister in and around Surrey. The Internet is crowded by portals, organised by large companies who in turn pass the…
Special Reasons in Drink Drive cases
When a client asks for representation for a drink drive charge, the process that the lawyer goes through can be quite complex. This blog is going to focus on the term ‘special reasons’. The first issue to determine is whether the client is guilty of the alleged offence; there are…
Drink drive offences
Drink/driving offence Excess alcohol (driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle). Contrary to Road Traffic Act 1988, s.5.1(1)(a). This offence is triable summarily, which means that the hearing can only take place at the Magistrates’ Court. I usually attend the following Magistrates’ Courts to represent drivers charged with drink…
Drink Drive
I attended the Aldershot Magistrates’ Court today, representing a client charged with a second drink drive offence within three years. He faced serious consequences, and needed to be properly represented; that is why he came to me. I don’t accept instructions under the legal aid system, and will not be…