Will you go to prison for drink driving? - How to avoid a prison sentence.

In this video Conor talks about the likelihood of a prison sentence in a drink driving case.

Website: https://www.majlaw.co.uk
Phone: 0151 422 8020.

0:55 - 01:49 - Can you go to prison for drink driving?
01:50 - 2:24 - How likely is it that you'll go to prison?
2:24 - 05:26 - Aggravating and Mitigating Factors
05:26 - 07:20 - Suspended sentence and community order
07:20 - 08:55 - Entering an early guilty plea
08:55 - 11:44 - Entering a basis of plea


In this video, we're going to be answering three main questions.
1. Can you go to prison for drink driving?
2. How likely is it that you'll go to prison?
3. What you can do to avoid/minimise the risk of a custodial sentence.

Can you go to prison for drink driving?
The answer to that question is yes. How long will depend on the severity of the case, individual circumstances and whether there were any aggravating or mitigating factors. Drink driving is a summary only offence, which means it can only be dealt with in the magistrate's court. The magistrates can impose custodial sentences of up to 6 months for a single offence, so for drink driving you can go to prison for up to 6 months. However, the chance of going to prison for that length of time is slim.

How likely is it that you'll go to Prison?
Again, this depends on the individual circumstances. There are two things which the courts will consider - aggravating and mitigating factors. Aggravating factors are factors which make the case more serious. Mitigating factors are factors which make it less serious. Some of the most common aggravating factors in drink driving are:

1. If you have a previous conviction for the same offence, particularly if that previous conviction was quite recent.
2. If you were driving and you had passengers in the vehicle.
3. If there's evidence of bad driving.
4. The alcohol level - see the sentencing guidelines online for these or refer to the image on the video.

Some of the most common mitigating factors in drink driving are:

1. Driving the vehicle on your own with no evidence of bad driving.
2. No previous convictions .
3. Previous good character
4. Low alcohol level

What can you do to avoid/minimise the risk of a custodial sentence?
There are a few ways that you can reduce the risk of a custodial sentence. Firstly is to ask the court to suspend the prison sentence, which means they impose a period of imprisonment, but you don't actually go to prison. For example, the court may send a person to prison for 12 weeks, but it's suspended for 12 months - this means that unless you commit further criminal offences within a 12-month period, your 12 week custodial sentence will not be triggered. If you do commit further offences in that time, then you will go to prison.

The second way to reduce a sentence is to ask the court to impose a community penalty alongside a suspended prison sentence. This way you are not getting off the charge, but facing an alternative veridct of a ban and community service - this coud be rehabilitation classes, unpaid work or an alcohol monitoring tag (a tag which can detect alcohol in your sweat).

The third point to consider is entering an early guilty plea. The court will impose two different penalities if you're convicted of drink driving. The first is the anciliary order - this is the driving disqualification and it is mandatory in circumstances where you're convicted of drink driving. The second is the punitive part - this is the fine, the community penalty, or the custodial sentence. If you enter a guilty plea early on, this attracts maximum credit which means that part of the sentence is reduced by 1/3.

The final point to consider is negotiating with the prosecution and putting forward a basis of plea. This means you may enter a guilty plea, but you can argue that you do not accept the full terms (not accepting everything the prosecution is accusing you of). By entering a basis of plea to a lower sentence, the prosecution are more likely to negogiate as you are showing that you are not trying to run away from the offence and are willing to accept some of the charge.

We hope you have enjoyed this video and it has given you some useful information. For anymore information, see the links at the top of this page.