Motoring Law
Drink Driving: Solicitor Sean Reilly, Manchester and the North West
Drink driving carries a minimum 12 month disqualification on conviction. There is far more that can be done about it than most people are told.
Breath, blood and urine procedures are tightly regulated, and the police get them wrong more often than people expect. We scrutinise the intoximeter print out, the statutory warning, the reliability of the reading, medical reasons for failure, continuity of any sample and the whole custody record.
Where the reading and procedure are sound, the work shifts to sentence: keeping you out of custody on higher readings, arguing special reasons where a disqualification can be avoided altogether, and securing the drink drive rehabilitation course to reduce the length of any ban.
Sean Reilly has run successful special reasons arguments on the basis of lesser known case law, meaning clients kept their licence and their job where a ban looked inevitable.
Penalties you could face
- Minimum 12 month disqualification, rising sharply with the reading
- Unlimited fine, and community or custodial sentence on high readings
- 3 year minimum ban for a second offence within 10 years
- Insurance and employment consequences that often outlast the sentence
How Sean can help
- Defective breath testing device or failed calibration checks
- Breach of MGDD procedure or statutory warning not given
- Post-driving consumption (hip flask defence) and spiked drink cases
- Special reasons arguments including short distance driven and genuine emergency
Frequently asked questions
Is there any way to keep my licence?
Sometimes. A successful special reasons argument allows the court not to disqualify even after a guilty plea. It needs proper evidence and the right case law put in front of the bench.
Should I plead guilty at the first hearing?
Not before someone has read the evidence. Get advice first, then decide. An early plea only helps if the case against you is actually sound.
Drink Driving advice across the North West
Free consultation call, straight answers and no jargon. Available for police station attendance and court hearings across the North West.