How will the police charge my friend after drink driving?

Question

On Sunday I had a housewarming party and everyone started drinking about 6pm and carried on till at least 5am.. I had the TV on quite loud so when my friend said she was going to walk home at 5am I didn't hear her start up her car and drive home, also this is very very unlike her so I obviously didn't think that she would be stupid enough to drive the 5 min drive home.. She must have drunk at least 2 bottles of red wine and cocktails as well so she was wasted and she had been smoking a bit of weed too.. Well she got stopped, breathalised and taken to the station and in a month she has to go back and find out if they are going to charge her.. Does anyone have any experience in this area coz I'd like to know how other people got charged.. I have looked at the guidelines to see what she can expect but obviously it varies on circumstances. She has only been driving for about 10 months and if she looses her licence she will lose her job. Oh and I can guarentee she will never do this again!!

Ok ok its pretty obvious that my friend did a stupid stupid irresponsible thing and its very lucky that no-one was hurt, but she knows this, its doesn't need to be said.. I just want to tell her what will happen to her.. To be honest, if she gets off lightly I won't be best pleased but she loves her job and seeing as she works for a childrens cancer charity it seems wrong that she loose her job helping people.. Everyone makes mistakes.
Oh and yes this is in the UK, she is 23 and I don't know what her BAC was..

Answer 1

I've only skimmed the existing answers so I've not read in depth what everyone else has answered.

I would suggest that she is waiting for results as she has had a blood test rather than a result from an intoxilyser machine (approved station breath test machine). A blood test is only done in certain circumstances, such as the reading being below 50 on the machine, the blood test being requested by the detainee or the machine not being in use, (other circumstances could also have been present) and obviously she would have to wait for the results.

If she is proved to have been over the limit then she will be charged with excess alcohol.

It's then up to the Courts to make the decision on a ban but in my experience, they always do ban for at least a year.

However, if your friend shows remorse and pleads special circumstances such as 'I would lose my job if I lost my licence' then she MAY get to keep her licence. This however is down to the Courts to decide and only they can give you an accurate answer to your question when they've viewed all of the evidence.

I'm glad that your friend seems to have realised her mistake and I sincerely hope she's learnt from it. I agree that anyone can make a mistake but that mistake could have cost someone their life. The whole reason why the law is in place.

I won't preach to you, I've not got any sympathy but I can see it from your point of view.

Good luck

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Yes we all make mistakes but this is a pretty big mistake - she knew how much she had drank, and the fact she had smoked illegal drugs on top of this. Imagine how angry you would have been at a person who had done this and run down your friend (had she chosen to walk). You wouldnt be calling it a mistake then would you? You would probably be calling for the death sentence to be reinstated. How can you guarantee she wont do it again as you thought she wouldnt do it in the first place. What the hell is she doing smoking drugs and drink driving if she works for childrens charity. If she loses her job then she will learn that she cant make 'mistakes' like this again and should grow up a bit. If she didnt want to walk home she could have got a taxi. Or maybe if you were such a good friend you would have made sure she got home safely as she sounded quite intoxicated.

She will probably get her license taken off her and have to sit her test again after a certain length of time.

Answer 4

Laws are different depending on the country. Sounds like this is UK. What happened at the station? She would have breathed into a machine and then told wether she had passed or failed. What was the result? If she failed she would have been charged there and then. If she passed she would have been told. Something doesn't sound right here. Check back with your friend. If found guilty it's loss of licence and as she only had it less than a year, resit test. Insurance will probably be unaffordable for next 5 years.

Answer 5

If in UK she will be summonsed to attend Court within 6 months usually on a Tuesday.At a local Magistartes court.

She will be convicted and her sentence will be likely loss of Licence for 12 months, a fine equivalent to £600 (if employed) Costs awarded against her value £100.

there is NO defence given the circs you mention, she will be made to retake her test, she has the opportunity to attend a Drink drive course to reduce the 12 month ban to 9 months, however this is expensive at about £400, her Insurance wil be trebled, she aso can receive points on her licence now and this is highly likely.In my experience at researching the legal system she will be treated more harshly than a male in a similar position.


www.all-about-britain.com

Answer 6

(1) Automatic ban of at least 12 months, and up to three years for a second offence.

This may be reduced by the court by up to 25 % if your friend attends a rehabilitation course.

There has to be an extraordinarily special reason to waive a driving ban.

(2) A fine of up to £5000; and / or

(3) Up to six months' imprisonment.

You say your friend is 23 years old? For goodness' sake - she has grown up in a society that campaigns heavily against drink driving. She is well and truly an adult and therefore, if wants the privileges that come with being one, has to accept the consequences of her actions like an adult when she doesn't behave like a responsible one. Accordingly, she has absolutely no excuses, she definitely deserves to lose her licence and thankfully is highly unlikely to get the ban waived. If she loses her job as a result of what she's done, yes that is tough, but it's also tough sh*t, as she has only herself to blame and I hope for all our sakes she learns something from this. I have absolutely no sympathy for her at all.

Answer 7

She will most likely get a fine and a license suspension of at least 6 months. She will have to take an alcohol abuse class and possibly be put on probation. It is impossible to know exactly at this point. In most cases, they issue a work permit so she can still drive to work ONLY. If she were to violate that, harsher penalties could be imposed when she goes to court on that violation.

Answer 8

Depending on how over the limit you are,you can be put in prison and it sounds like she was well over.

Also,she will get a ban and points on her licence,she will also lose her licence,as she has only been driving for 10 months.

Her insurance is going to be sky high for years,drunk driving stays on your licence for something like 10 years.

These days if you get over 6 points before you have been driving for 2 years you have to take your whole test again,theory and practical...I have to add,it serves her right.

Answer 9

If your in the UK then lookn at the Crown Prosecution Service Guidelines, google it, they will look at the evidence and decide if there is a case to answer to and if there is enough evidence to bac it up, if she was breathlysed then there def will be and I'm afraid she will 100% lose her licence for a period of time and have to retake her theory and pratical driving test. sorry but it is her own fault

Answer 10

Dont know where you are, but i would say shes looking at a fine and a ban from driving. It depends how much alcohol was in her system to how long the ban will be and i would say thats shes lucky she got just that, she could of killed someone and for what a 5 min drive. Sorry but she deserves everything thats thrown at her and doesnt deserve to be driving. Complete stupidity if you ask me.