Why you need a Lawyer if you are caught drink driving

One of the most common needs for legal advice comes from drivers who have been caught driving over the legal alcohol limit. There are around three thousand people killed or seriously injured as a result of people driving over the limit, every in year in the UK. Police crackdowns make it more likely than ever that you can be caught out if you've had one too many, with over a hundred thousand positive breathalyser readings last year.

The consequences of drink driving convictions can be very serious. Even with the direct legal consequences aside, employers can legitimately use your conviction or your inability to drive as a reason to dismiss you. Offences that carry a custodial sentence will be for a minimum of three months, with death by dangerous driving having a sentence of up to eleven years. You can have points put on your licence which will remain even after any driving ban you are given has run out. You may also be required to undertake a more advanced driving exam before you are allowed to drive again, and you may find it hard to get insurance - or, at least, affordable insurance after a serious conviction. Finding a specialist road traffic lawyer is therefore important in representing your case fairly, advising you of all the consequences, and in being able to minimise the severity of any penalties given. They may also be able to use their experience to avoid any penalty at all in certain cases where legal procedures have not been followed.