13 Reasons Why is currently making waves as a much watch Netflix Original Series. But would you believe that there are at least 13 offences committed throughout the 13 episodes? Over the next 4 days I will be continuing to post blogs about the 13 different offences I have found and what could happen should you be arrested or charged with them.

The Sentencing Council website can be found here.

There is a list of the drink driving penalties here on gov.uk.

10. Drink Driving (Section 4(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988)

To drive under the influence of alcohol is an extremely serious offence, not only do you put yourself in danger, you put everyone around you in danger.

If you are stopped and a Police Officer suspects that you have been drinking, they will ask you to provide a sample of breath (if you refuse to do this, you can be committing another offence of Failure to Provide a Specimen). If you are found to have more than 35 micrograms of Alcohol per 100ml of breath then you will be arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.

When you attend at the Magistrates Court, the sentencing guidelines range depending on how many micrograms of alcohol you “blew” and the other circumstances of the offence. The outcome of the case will depend on whether there were any aggravating factors to the matter such as an accident, other passengers in the vehicle (especially vulnerable passengers such a children).

If you are found guilty, or plead guilty to a Drink Driving offence you can be ordered to pay a fine not exceeding £5,000 and you will receive a disqualification of at least 12 months. In the most extreme cases, you could be given a custodial sentence of up to 26 weeks.

To reduce any disqualification, anyone convicted with this offence can choose to take the Drink Drive Rehabilitation Course and if completed in the timescale offered by the Court, a reduction of up to a quarter could be obtained.

If you are convicted of a drink driving offence, this could affect your personal circumstances afterwards, for example, your insurance will probably become more expensive, you will struggle to find work where you would be driving as part of your position and you may even find it difficult travelling to other countries, especially America.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of driving offences are not covered by the Legal Aid Agency and therefore, any representation at Court would be on a private paying basis. (Remember, any advice given at the Police Station is free of charge under the Advice and Assistance Scheme funded by the Legal Aid Agency). At Ringrose Law, we have very competitive fees for representation at Court whether you intend to plead guilty or not guilty. Feel free to contact any of our offices for more information on these fees.

Help

We at Ringrose Law understand how worrying it can be if you are arrested in relation to any offence. We would always recommend that you obtain Legal Representation if you are arrested or interviewed. You are entitled to free and independent Legal advice at the Police Station.

Contact our Criminal Defence team who will be able to represent you at the Police Station on any matter, covered by the Legal Aid Agency’s Advice and Assistance Scheme. We have offices in Boston, Lincoln, Spalding, Sleaford, Grantham and Newark.

Prev: Failure to Stop /Report a Road Traffic Accident (Section 170(2) and (3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988)

Next: Possession of an Imitation Firearm (Section 19 of the Firearms Act 1968)

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