Solicitors for Driving Whilst Unfit Through Drink Or Drugs Offences

At BKP Solicitors, we have years of experience in providing specialist legal advice for driving whilst unfit charges. We can help to reduce the impact that this will have on your life, through providing high quality representation by our friendly and dedicated team who are here to help you.

We understand that the prospect of losing your licence can be daunting and can have severe financial and social implications for you. This is why we are thorough in the service that we provide, to ultimately achieve the best possible outcome.

To ensure that our services are always available to you, we offer 24 hour police station representation so that you can get help when you most need it. Give us a call today on the number found at the top of this page or fill in our online contact form to ensure that you get the expert legal advice that you require.

How Can BKP Solicitors Help?

We pride ourselves on providing an excellent service to our clients to ensure that any impacts on your life are limited. We will work tirelessly to fight your corner at every step along the way, through our extensive hardworking team who will guide you through the process.

When you have been accused of being unfit to drive, it is vital to have a specialist motoring offences solicitor on your side to form a solid defence and ensure that you have the best possible chance of reducing the punishment or even having it revoked. This is what we do best, having assisted hundreds of clients avoid driving disqualifications and having cases reduced or even dropped before going to trial.

In times like this, you deserve to have high quality legal advisors to represent you, which we can undoubtedly provide at BKP Solicitors.

What Is Driving Whilst Unfit?

If it is believed someone’s ability to drive has been impaired by drugs or alcohol, they can be accused of driving whilst unfit. The main difference between this and drink driving, or being drunk in charge, is that a driving whilst unfit charge is not reliant on a sample of breath for analysis.

A police officer at the scene will always ask to take a specimen, but may charge the motorist without it if they are physically unable to provide a specimen due to being under the influence. The police can also use erratic driving as evidence for impairment.

You will also usually be asked to perform an impairment test on the roadside to try and find evidence of you being impaired to drive. This involves the Romberg test which assesses balance and judgement, the walk and turn test and the standing on one leg test. The results of these tests can be challenged as they are subjective and down to a matter of opinion. Our highly regarded expert solicitors can help with this to state how ineffective this method is.

There are a range of challenges and arguments which motoring offence solicitors can use when building a defence, and the specialist lawyers here at BKP Solicitors are leaders in their field. By seeking the advice of experts at an early stage, you can greatly improve the chances of any punishment being reduced.

Possible Penalties For Driving Whilst Unfit

The penalties available for driving whilst unfit vary depending on the seriousness of the offence, however it is a matter taken seriously by the courts. It is vital that you seek expert advice as soon as possible to ensure the best probability of success. If you enter a guilty plea, the court has to impose a mandatory ban of between 12-36 months. In addition to this, other penalties can include:

• A custodial sentence of up to 26 weeks (6 months in the most severe of cases)
• An unlimited fine
• Community service

Being found guilty of being unfit to drive not only carries heavy penalties, but it has far reaching implications on your life, such as:

• A criminal record
• The need to disclose this to potential employers
• Increases in future insurance policies

It is therefore important to have people on your side who are knowledgeable and committed to supporting you through the defence process, which our experts can offer you.

How Can We Build A Defence?

Being charged with being unfit to drive requires you to have been in charge of the vehicle at the time of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. This is not as straightforward as it may seem, and the court will assess factors such as:

• Whether you were in the vehicle
• Where in the vehicle you were
• What you were doing in the vehicle
• Whether you had possession of the keys

If you can show that it is unlikely that you were driving whilst unfit, you will be acquitted.

We can help you build a defence to put the best possible case forward tailored to your individual circumstances. Get in touch today to get advice from our specialist advisors.