CRIME, DRIVING OFFENCES

Drink Driving Penalties

DPP Law: How Many Points Can You Get on Your license for Drink Driving?

We all understand that driving under the influence of alcohol can have serious consequences. It can result in damage and destruction of property, injury and even death but around 85,000 people are convicted of offences related to drink-driving every year in England and Wales. But what are the legal repercussions of breaking the law in this way? Can you drive after being caught drink driving, or is your license automatically revoked?

Minimum Penalties for First Time Drink Driving Offence

Even if an individual is only being prosecuted for drink driving for the first time, the resulting penalties can be heavy. The most lenient court response to an individual who is found guilty of driving under the influence is a fine of between 25% and 75% of their weekly income. Fines for drink driving are based on income, and this is the amount you will be charged for a “Band A” offence – the “least serious” kind.

Bands are calculated based on a number of factors, including how far over the limit the individual was at the time according to any breathalyser, blood or urine tests that were taken, the resulting value and seriousness of any damage caused by the individual and their vehicle as a result, whether or not there were any injuries or a high likelihood of injury or death, whether or not the individual had been in trouble for similar offences before, and how long a period of time had gone by between each offence.

How Many Penalty Points do You Get for Drink Driving?

If you are found to have been in charge of a vehicle while under the influence of drink or recreational drug use, a mandatory ten points will be taken from your license. “In charge” could mean something as simple as sleeping in a car or wheeling a motorbike along the road. If you’re found to be driving or attempting to drive while over the legal limit, you could receive anything from three to eleven points on your license to a complete ban (with a minimum of 6 months). If you already have points on your license, it’s likely that those handed to you for this offence will take you up to and over the twelve points required to see you banned through the “totting up” system.

Custodial punishments for this kind of offence can reach 14 years in jail if you cause death by driving under the influence, and this can also come with an unlimited fine and at least a two year driving ban. It’s likely that you’ll also have to take an extended test to be allowed to drive again.

Being drunk in charge of a vehicle can see you served with three months’ prison time, up to £2,500 worth of fines and a possible ban. The most common prison sentence for drink drivers is six months, with an uncapped fine and a one year ban.

You can also receive six months’ worth of prison time, a years’ ban and an unlimited fine simply for refusing to provide a specimen or take a breathalyser test, so it’s important to always comply with the orders of law enforcers if they stop your vehicle.

What Do I Do if I’m Arrested for Drink Driving?

If you are accused of driving under the influence, the vital first step is to seek out trustworthy legal advice before you speak to law enforcers in full.

If you are looking for legal advice surrounding the issue of drink driving, simply speak to the team at DPP Law today to find out what can be done. Use our useful contact form here to explain your queries, and our team of experts will respond to you as soon as possible.