Drunk or Unfit Whilst "In Charge"

Many people are unaware that merely being “in charge” of a vehicle whilst over the legal alcohol limit (or whilst unfit through drink or drugs) is a criminal offence. Unsuspecting motorists innocently sleeping a few drinks off in their car may find themselves facing serious charges and ultimately a criminal record.

Whilst not considered as serious as driving whilst over the limit, the penalties for “in-charge” offences can have a huge impact upon a driver and their life.

To convict somebody of this offence, the CPS must be able to prove:

• That you were in charge of a motor vehicle on a public road/public place; and
• It was whilst you were over the prescribed limit or unfit through drink or drugs.
  
  

What do I do?

If you are unsure of the best way to proceed then please contact one of our team to discuss your options.

It is often difficult to confirm at the outset whether or not you can defend your case until we have had opportunity to review the evidence against you or find out the exact circumstances of such an allegation. It is with this in mind that we can offer you an investigation into the charges against you for a fixed fee. We can scrutinise the evidence against you and provide you with our full advice on the prospects of success in your individual case. No two cases are ever exactly the same and it is important that we consider the specifics of your case before advising you of the chances of success. 

Once you have received our advice, you can make an informed decision on whether or not to defend the allegation or accept the penalty, and one of our team will be on hand to discuss any concerns you may have about your case.

The initial investigation is what has led to the majority of our clients successfully defending their case.



Defending the Allegation

Unlike drink driving which is defended largely on technical grounds, drunk in charge has a statutory defence. The law is clear in that somebody cannot be convicted of an “in charge” offence if they can prove that there was no intention and/or likelihood of the vehicle being driven whilst the driver was over the prescribed limit (for drunk in charge) or still impaired (for in charge whilst unfit through drink or drugs).

It is up to the defence to prove that there was no intention or likelihood of the vehicle being driven.

If you know that you wish to defend the charges against you then please contact us as soon as possible (even if you have not been formally charged).  Whilst “in charge” allegations do have a statutory defence, there are still several technical defences that may be available and the team at Olliers adopt a “leave no stone unturned” approach to defending cases. A pre-emptive approach can often help secure key evidence, e.g. CCTV evidence that may be otherwise destroyed if there is a delay between being charged and actually appearing in court.

We have found that most of our clients are happy to know that, if they choose to defend the charges, they can continue driving for as long as proceedings are ongoing.

We must stress again however that this is a very specialist niche area of law and a general criminal lawyer (unlike an expert) may give you very different advice to our own, simply due to the fact that this is not their main area of practice. The lawyers in our motoring department are specialists dedicated to motoring law and therefore are fully conversant with the complexities of this area of the law. You should keep this in mind if you have spoken to other more general firms.



Pleading Guilty

The penalty for this offence is a minimum of 10 penalty points on your driving licence. It is important to note that if you have 2 or more penalty points on your driving licence then you will be facing a 6 month disqualification if you receive these points. 

The maximum penalty is 12 weeks imprisonment.

There is also a fine of up to £2500 and a possibility of community service.

We understand that everybody will want to secure the minimum penalty and we offer a fixed fee service to help you achieve this. This level of representation includes the meticulous preparation of your case, one of our specialist lawyers on hand for advice over the telephone any time between 8am and 10pm and a specialist court advocate who will accompany you to court and conduct the hearing for you. If you are at risk of a 6 month disqualification, please see our section on "Totting Up" for further information.