Serious Driving Offences And What They Mean For Your Driving Licence
Although they may not be regarded as crimes in the same league as the likes of bank robbery and fraud, nevertheless driving offences will still mean punishments for those who commit them. Criminal lawyers may not always be required to represent those who commit minor driving offences, but for the more serious driving offences they most certainly should be consulted.
The reason for that is that the punishments which can be applied when someone has been convicted of a serious driving offence can go all the way up the scale to include disqualification from driving, fines, and ultimately, a term of imprisonment.
Serious driving offences will include those that involve driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and there are three main definitions of these, which are:
- Driving with a blood-alcohol level which is greater than 0.08%
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol to the extent that you are incapable of properly controlling a vehicle
- Refusing to provide the police with a sample of urine, breath or blood when requested.
The most obvious punishment that anyone who commits a serious driving offence relating to drink driving can expect to receive is a disqualification from driving. This will be in the form of a disqualification notice, and these are normally issued by the police.
Disqualification notices can be issued by the police to the driver at the time the offence occurs, or alternatively, they can be issued up to ten days after the day of the offence. A disqualification notice normally remains in force for 2 months, and it applies to the offender from the moment that they receive it.