Will I lose my licence if I plead guilty?
Special reasons not to disqualify
Under certain circumstances the courts have a discretion to impose a shorter level of disqualification or no disqualification following a guilty plea or following a guilty verdict at trial. Below is a list of the main headings under which the courts would consider these factors:
Emergency Circumstances
It should be noted that great emphasis is put upon the word "emergency". It is not enough to simply suggest that you felt the best thing to do in a situation was to drive. There needs to be a real emergency and the courts will give great consideration as to why you could not phone for a taxi, police officer or ambulance.
Laced drinks
If you have consumed more alcohol than you were aware of and as a result have been found to be driving over the limit you are guilty of the offence. However, if you can convince the court that you were unaware of the amount of alcohol you consumed then the court can exercise their discretion. You will need to show the court that you would not have been over the limit if you had consumed an amount of alcohol which was within your knowledge. This is usually done using an expert.
It is important that you are aware that if someone accepts having laced your drinks that they will face serious consequences if they are found not to be telling the truth or if they knew you were intending to drive but increased the amount of alcohol you were consuming regardless.
The level of intoxication is going to have a serious effect on this kind of case because there will be a point where a reasonable person would become aware that he or she is too far over the limit to drive, regardless of what they think they have consumed.
Shortness of distance
If whilst intoxicated you move your car a short distance the court can reduce or completely remove any disqualification. There are seven criteria such as road conditions and reason for driving which are relevant as well as the distance travelled. In these situations the distance travelled does need to be very short to achieve a successful outcome.