Drink Driving Lawyers Sydney

PENALTIES

The penalties for drink driving vary significantly, depending on numerous factors. If you are convicted of a drinking driving offence in NSW, it is almost guaranteed that you will loose your drivers licence, be required to pay a fine and will receive a criminal record. In some instances, offenders could even face terms of imprisonment, particularly if the offence has been made on multiple occasions.

First and foremost, the Court will use the alcohol reading to determine sufficient and fair punishments, relative to the drink driving offence. It is also not uncommon for the less severe penalties to be enforced if you are a first time offender. The penalties incurred for first time drink driving, as per the PCA range are outlined below.

Alternatively, if the offence has occurred a second time in a 5 year period, the penalties will be more severe. The maximum penalties incurred for second time drink driving offences, as per the PCA range are outline below:

It is also important to be aware that mid range and high range drink driving will incur a mandatory interlock licence order. The Court may also enforce offender to attend a Traffic Offenders Intervention Program, in which our drink driving lawyers are heavily involved in.

It is also important to be aware that a guideline judgement is in place for driving High Range PCA which determine how drinking driving offences should be sentenced. The factors that apply to drink driving offences include:

• The degree of intoxication
• Erratic or reckless driving
• Competitive driving
• Length of journey
• Number of passengers who were at risk

If these factors are determined to be serious in nature, the Court may be more inclined to impose serious penalties that are relevant to the particular drink driving offence.

Despite the vast range of penalties that may be enforced, our experienced drink driving lawyers can potentially persuade the Court to not record a conviction for your drink driving charge. If we are successful, your matter will be dealt with the by the means of a section 10 dismissal, in which you have been found guilty, although the Court will not impose any penalties or record a conviction. Ultimately, this means that you will not be penalised and your licence will not be disqualified. When considering a section 10, the Court will consider:

• Your age
• Character
• Criminal record
• Health and mental condition
• Trivial nature of the drink driving offence
• Any extenuating circumstance

If it is determined that a section 10 is not sufficient punishment pertinent to your specific offence, our drink driving solicitors can still help reduce the severity of your penalties. Our drink driving lawyers can help to:

• Reduce the period that your licence is suspended
• Minimise the fine you have to pay
• Help you avoid imprisonment or minimise the sentence for serious offences

GUILTY

To be found guilty of a drink driving offence, the Police must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:

• You were in control of a motor vehicle, and
• Your PCA was at a level above the legal limit for your specific licence at the time of your driving

If the Police are able to successfully prove these elements, it is likely that you will be convicted and face the aforementioned penalties. Therefore, if you tend to agree with the drink driving charges made against you, it may be in your best interest to plead guilty.

Although a guilty plea will result in sentencing, the outcomes can potentially be much more favourable as opposed to being found guilty otherwise. Typically, a guilty plea demonstrates regret for your actions in which the Court may be more inclined to deal with the matter by means of a section 10 dismissal or reduce the maximum penalty.

At Benjamin Leonardo – The Defenders, we work closely with all the clients we represent and provide honest advice if it is in your best interest to plead guilty or not guilty. If you or someone you know is facing drink driving charges, it is advised to seek legal representation immediately.

Call our Sydney traffic infringement lawyers now to schedule a consultation where we can provide tailored advice pertinent to your specific matter.

NOT GUILTY

Alternatively, you can choose to plead not guilty to the allegations made against you. In this instance, it will up the Police to prove that you did commit the offence of drink driving. If they are successful, it is likely you will face conviction.

For your best chance to avoid potentially significant penalties, it is advised to seek representation from our expert drink driving lawyers based in Sydney. Our traffic infringement lawyers will then fight the allegations by using a relevant defence strategy. If we are successful, the Court will completely dismiss the charges.

As an award winning criminal law firm, we are dedicated to providing our clients with the best possible outcome. If you are facing charges relating to a drink driving offence, contact Benjamin Leonardo – The Defenders, for an appointment.

THE DEFENCE

In order to dismiss the allegations that you were involved in a drink driving offence, our expert traffic offence lawyers may argue the follow legal defences:

Honest and Reasonable Mistake: The Criminal Codes Act 1995 (Cth) defines circumstances in which a person will not be criminally responsible for particular offences. Under division 9, the Criminal Codes Act states:

9.1: Mistake of ignorance of the fact (fault elements other than negligence).

1. A person is not criminally responsible for an offence that has a physical element for which there is fault element other than negligence if:
   1. at the time of the conduct constituting the physical element, the person is under a mistaken belief about, or is ignorant of, fact and
   2. the existence of that mistaken belief or ignorance negates any fault element applying to that physical element.
2. In determining whether a person was under a mistaken belief about, or was ignorant of, fact, the tribunal of fact may consider whether the mistaken belief or ignorance was reasonable in the circumstances.

Therefore, it must be proven that there was a mistaken belief surrounding the offence. A common example of an honest mistake relating to drink driving offences may be the use of alcohol in foods or common everyday items, which can sometimes record a positive PCA reading. This characters a reasonable mistaken belief in which the accused will be found not guilty of this particular charge.

Unlawfully Obtained: As per schedule 3 of the Road Transport Act, the Police must conduct breath tests within 2 hours of you having driven. If it can be proven that breath tests were administered outside of this time frame, the evidence can be deemed as inadmissible as it was obtained unlawfully. Furthermore, the Police are not lawfully allowed to administer a breath test at the defendant’s home. This rule is commonly referred to as the ‘home safe rule’ and if evidence is provided that you were required to adhere to a breath test at the location of your premises, the PCA reading found in that test is again inadmissible, whereby charges will not apply.

WHICH COURT?

Drink driving is a commonly heard criminal offence in NSW. As a result, the matter will be typically dealt with at a Local Court.

At Benjamin Leonardo – The Defenders, we are an experienced drink driving solicitors and have successfully represented clients throughout various Local Courts in NSW. For a full list of Local Courts and to find the closest to you, click here.