Drink Driving
Drink Driving
The consequences of being convicted of a drink driving offence can be life-changing, even if it’s your first offence. You may feel overwhelmed and unsure of how to respond to the charges against you.
As with most other motoring offences the more serious the offence, the higher the penalty and if you are convicted you will face a ban of between 12 months and three years.
Less severe offences will stay on your driving record for four years from the date of the offence (or the date of conviction where you have received a disqualification); these include:
DR40 – in charge of a vehicle while alcohol level above limit; 10 points
DR50 – in charge of a vehicle while unfit through drink; 10 points
DR60 – failure to provide a specimen for analysis in circumstances other than driving or attempting to drive; 10 points
DR70 – failing to provide specimen for breath test; 4 points
More severe offences, including driving or attempting to drive above the alcohol limit (DR10), driving or attempting to drive while unfit through drink (DR20), driving or attempting to drive and then failing to provide a specimen for analysis (DR30) and driving or attempting to drive then refusing to give permission for analysis of a blood sample that was taken without consent due to incapacity (DR31) all carry 3 to 11 penalty points and will stay on your driving record for 11 years from the date of conviction.
Defending drink driving cases can be complex and complicated; at Rotheras our motorist defence team specialise in helping clients facing conviction for drink driving. We would recommend seeking legal advice as early as possible after being convicted of a drink driving offence to give us the best possible chance of successfully defending your case and saving your licence.
We have a site dedicated solely to Motoring Offences whilst still using the same expert Transport solicitors, so if you’re looking for more information about types of offences, our team, where we operate or case studies from some of our previous clients, then head over to KeepMeOnTheRoad. If you feel you’ve read enough and want to speak to one of the country’s leading transport Law teams, give us a call now on 0115 910 0600.
Why use Rotheras for Drink Driving Offences?
We are based in Nottingham but act for clients all over the UK.
We can provide an out of hours service.
We will discuss the circumstances of your offence in detail with you to decide on the best approach, whether that’s defending your case or aiming to keep any sentence to a minimum.
We can attend the police station with you where you are required to give a specimen to ensure correct procedures are followed and no errors are made which could lead to an incorrect verdict.
We will thoroughly prepare for your case by viewing CCTV, contacting witnesses and seeking the opinion of toxicology experts and forensic medical examiners.
We can analyse the evidence gathered in the police process to ensure this has been followed correctly.
We have a network of experts including forensic experts we work with to assess the reliability of your breath test result and check that the breathalyser worked properly.
In some cases we can challenge the result of a blood or urine analysis.
We can successfully argue in cases where you consumed alcohol after driving the vehicle (‘hip flask’ defence), using expert advice to assist us with preparing a back calculation.
We have considerable experience in making successful special reasons arguments in exceptional circumstances.
Send us a message
“Our experienced and specialist team represent clients nationally on a day-to-day basis”
Anton Balkitis
Head of Transport Law
Posted 27/01/2020
"Impressive group with expertise in both matrimonial finance cases and children matters. A strong childcare team handles cases involving physical and emotional abuse, as well as fatalities. Well versed in matters with international aspects, Hague Convention cases, as well as adoption and guardianship issues.
Chambers UK, 2018
Posted 27/01/2020
Anton Balkitis frequently represents the operators of both goods and passenger vehicles in court proceedings. Clients remark: "He has a commercial understanding of real-life issues and will always provide a balanced view
Chambers UK, 2019
Posted 27/01/2020
Impressive group with expertise in both matrimonial finance cases and children matters. A strong childcare team handles cases involving physical and emotional abuse, as well as fatalities. Well versed in matters with international aspects, Hague Convention cases, as well as adoption and guardianship issues.
Chambers UK, 2018
Posted 02/06/2020
Chris Powell at Rotheras was recommended to us by a trusted associate within the Transport Industry; without doubt we wouldn’t have had the excellent outcome we did without his and his team’s involvement. The level of professionalism, expert advice and assistance was faultless; we felt reassured and well informed throughout the whole process. It was a pleasure to do business with him and would highly recommend his services!
Julian Brindley - John Brindley Ltd
Posted 12/08/2020
The team at Rotheras, and Mr Powell in particular, have provided us with an outstanding service. We are extremely grateful for the help and support they gave us in dealing with issues relating to our transport operations and our goods vehicle operators licence. Mr Powell was professional, knowledgable, efficient and effective. He quickly understood our business and the problem we had. He responded with sensible advice and acted quickly on our behalf to resolve the matter. I cannot thank him enough for his help and I would recommend Mr Powell, and the Rotheras team, without hesitation. I am extremely grateful for the help they gave us.
Richard Hitchcock - Hitchcock & King
Posted 12/08/2020
I would highly recommend James Briggs, solicitor at Rotheras. He has been extremely helpful, patient and thorough whilst helping me with affairs following the death of my husband. Even during lockdown (covid) he maintained communication and kept me informed of what was happening. He successfully achieved the outcome I needed and I would not hesitate to recommend him.
Yvonne Gold
Posted 30/09/2020
We are in the middle of launching our own packaging agency and contacted Rotheras for some professional legal advice with regards to contracts. After an initial call with Billy, he made it clear what we needed and asked plenty of questions to understand what it was we needed. He was very responsive to our questions, whether it be over the phone or via emails and made the process really simple. We had little experience in this area so it was fantastic to work with Billy, who explained everything concisely. We were also really pleased with the quick turnaround and great value offered. Would thoroughly recommend working with Rotheras.
Tom Burden, Director of Rightbox Ltd
Posted 30/09/2020
Billy understood our requirement from the get go and really nailed down on what we needed in our commercial agency agreement. Billy kept us informed every step of the way and showed great professionalism. We would recommend his services to any start-up business who is in need of legal advice and guidance with commercial contracts.
Axl Barber, Sales Director of Rightbox Ltd
Posted 11/02/2021
I was extremely pleased with the service that Kerry provided in order to sell my mothers house. Good, prompt communication and all questions dealt with or answered as requested. Consequently I would recommend yours services to others.
Adam Stevens
Posted 25/03/2021
Anton has substantial experience acting for commercial goods hauliers and other transport operators. He advises on a range of contentious issues including operator licence, maintenance and tachograph matters, with a wealth of experience acting in public inquiries before Traffic Commissioners."Anton is a highly informed and personable lawyer.
Chambers UK, 2020
Posted 25/03/2021
Chris Powell focuses his practice on road transport issues, regularly representing haulage, transport and logistics companies. He has considerable experience in regulatory matters involving operator licences and compliance failings, as well as more serious criminal investigations relating to fraud.
Chambers UK, 2020
Posted 07/06/2021
Dear Sally, I can’t thank you enough for today! You took the pressure off me and I felt so looked after and understood everything that was happening. Thank you so much!
Kelly Neave
Anton Balkitis
a.balkitis@rotheras.co.uk
Anton Balkitis leads the Transport Law team and is a nationally recognised Transport and Motoring Law specialist at Nottingham-based law firm Rotheras Solicitors.
Olivia Maginn
o.maginn@rotheras.co.uk
Olivia Maginn is a transport and motoring law specialist at Nottingham based law firm Rotheras Solicitors.
Chris Powell
c.powell@rotheras.co.uk
Chris Powell is a senior associate solicitor at Rotheras, specialising in road transport law and motorist defence. He advises and represents haulage and PSV operator licence holders, Transport Managers and drivers on all road transport regulatory matters.
Lindsey Richmond
l.richmond@rotheras.co.uk
Lindsey is a Chartered Legal Executive and Paralegal based in our transport and motorist offence department.
Joanne Derbyshire
j.derbyshire@rotheras.co.uk
Joanne Derbyshire is a Trainee Solicitor currently in the transport and motorist offence department.
Hardeep Chumber
h.chumber@rotheras.co.uk
Hardeep Chumber is a paralegal in Rotheras Motoring and Transport department and is based at our Lace Market office.
Does my van need an Operator’s Licence?
You usually only need an operator’s licence if you operate goods vehicles or public service vehicles over 3.5t; however, as a result of Brexit, from May 2022 the UK is introducing new regulations meaning that certain vans between 2.5t and 3.5t will require an operators’ licence or they could be operating unlawfully.
Posted on 07/06/2021
We’re Recruiting: Conveyancing Paralegal
An excellent opportunity has arisen for a Paralegal to work with our widely respected Residential Conveyancing team. Our Residential Conveyancing department are experts in a wide variety of conveyancing matters and are a major name in the provision of conveyancing services in the East Midlands and nationwide.
Posted on 03/06/2021