Don’t be aggressive or rude.

What do you do if the police have pulled you over in relation to speeding, dangerous driving, careless driving? What you don’t do is get rude and aggressive with the police officers. If you feel you’ve been wrongly accused of something, then what you need to do is start preparing your case really from the moment they stop you.

So mistake number one would be becoming rude and argumentative with the police officers. The first thing that sets them on edge and makes sure that they’re going to remember who you are is if you are rude or aggressive. They will likely remember everything about the incident to recall very clearly every little detail when they come to court. 

Cooperate fully

Cooperate fully with the police officers. They’re perfectly entitled to ask you your name, address, mot, and insurance. Nowadays, they tend not to bother with the mot and insurance because they’ve usually done a DVLA computer check even before they’ve stopped you. So they’re aware of your insurance position, or they’ve got a very good idea of it.

They’ve got a lot of information even before they stop you. So be aware of that. Cooperate, give details, and cooperate fully with them on that. Don’t start demanding calibration certificates and certificates of authenticity and certificates of accuracy concerning measurements. Your time will come, and you can deal with that at a trial. At this stage, the police officers may well show you a speed gun or show you a video in their car.

Note down equipment used.

What you should do is make a note of what equipment is being used. So have a look at the equipment. The car, if you see handheld devices that are Unipar devices provider. So please have a look at those things, look out for those words or labels and take a note of them at the time.

Personal video evidence

Another thing that I would suggest you do is video evidence. Everybody has smartphones nowadays, so use them. Don’t do this right into the face of a police officer. There’s nothing more obstructive or rude than somebody wielding a camera when you’re actually trying to do your job. Polite and discrete use of your smartphone or a video camera to video the circumstances surrounding the offence is appropriate.

Get their car in the video too. It’ll have the registration number. We’ll identify the time, the place and the circumstances from that because the police will later give evidence about it. Check the weather conditions such as temperature and rain. That will tell us whether there are icy conditions or whether it’s better than that. Video the actual road conditions too. Video the police officers on the roadway. So we can see their position with your video, the general road conditions, which will just allow us to see the traffic flow and the level of traffic flow when you’ve been stopped.

All of that can be really important, particularly in dangerous driving or careless driving. As I say, be discreet with what you’re doing. You are perfectly entitled to video; you’re entitled to video even the process of discussing with the police officers what’s happening, but don’t get into an argument about that whole situation. If they’re demanding that you stop, and if they do video activity, just tell them that you would like to refer to that at a later stage. So that’s why you’re videoing. And keep it polite, simple, and straight forward.

Don’t delay; call a road traffic lawyer.

Don’t wait for the case papers to come in. Don’t wait for a citation to arrive at your door; speak to a specialist lawyer as soon as you can sit down with him or her and find out if there’s anything else required to be obtained at that time. Sometimes, in particular with dangerous driving or careless driving cases, it’s worth having your case examined by an expert.

Sometimes it’s worth having your vehicle examined for damage and for an indication of what the damage was. And that’s the time to preserve that type of evidence. So speak to a lawyer as soon as you can. They’ll give you some advice. It’s usually free in the early stages, so it’s not going to cost you anything.

Assuming you will be convicted

The biggest mistake is to assume that because you’ve been charged with drink driving, that you will be convicted of drunk driving and therefore lose your driving licence. The consequences of going to court in relation to this type of charge are very serious. Drink driving cases are not over before they start.

So it’s a matter where you should speak to a lawyer at the earliest opportunity. As soon as you’ve been processed by the police, you should be contacting a lawyer. Evidence can be preserved and it can make a massive difference in how your case is dealt with at the end of the day. 

We have dealt with many types of cases depending on how the police deal with the evidence, what they do in relation to your case and the procedures that are involved in your case. Also taking into account whether they’re fair to you or not. You’ll really only know that if you speak to a lawyer who has experience in this area and can tell you just exactly what weight the court will bring to the evidence of how your case has been dealt with.

So there needs to be something fairly substantial for us to be able to win your case. But please do not assume that your case is simply a loser because you’ve been charged. Often it’s the case that we can mitigate the circumstances and explain the full background to the court. It’s not very often, that people openly accept that they’re involved in drunk driving. There’s usually some background there. So we always ask some probing questions and find out what the background is because. Often that’s something that the court really required to know.

Thinking the police always get it right

There are many ways the police can get something wrong in relation to drink driving. Maybe they measured your alcohol levels incorrectly. Maybe the sample was not taken in the correct manner. You could have had something in your mouth, such as chewing gum, tobacco etc. Perhaps you were on a special diet or have diabetes, asthma, other relevant medical condition. 

The idea we’re trying to give you is that there are many opportunities that could mean you are not convicted. We have to be allowed to analyse the evidence which can only occur if you contact us and contest the charge. 

Trying to explain that the police lied

This will very rarely work out for you. All you really need to do is show how the officer might simply be mistaken. We can check the case procedures thoroughly and ensure that all the relevant documents have been lodged to enable you to cross-examine whether the procedures were carried out appropriately. A Sheriff does not want to believe that a police officer is willing to lie to catch one person out for a road offence when they would be risking their careers. So it’s much more prudent to go for the angle that the police officer(s) are mistaken.

Lawyers for drink driving cases

So get in touch with us. We’re more than happy to speak to you in the first instance without a fee. Speak to one of our lawyers who will analyse your case. We’ll tell you the facts and we’ll tell you exactly what the position is and whether there’s any real worth in going to trial in relation to your case. Bear in mind that the devices that are used nowadays, the Intoximeter devices are approved devices that bring them a special status, which means that the court trusts the reading that comes from that device. Remember drink driving cases are worth examining so call asap.

Pretending your partner was driving

If you’ve been flashed by a camera, then you may receive what’s called a notice of intended penalty or notice of intended prosecution through the door. And it asks you to name who was the driver of the vehicle. We get a lot of questions about this type of situation because people stress the issue of whether they’re going to take the points or whether they’re going to allow their partner or someone else who drives the vehicle to take the points and therefore lie. Pretending your partner was driving is a serious offence.

Perverting the course of justice

This is essentially an attempt to pervert the course of justice. What I want to do is to give you a warning, to not do that! It’s incredibly serious. And it has ended up in people who are first-time offenders, receiving custodial sentences in England. In particular, there have been cases where a policeman was caught providing false details of who was driving. He was given a custodial sentence. A nurse on another occasion received a custodial sentence. The famous case of former Liberal Democrat MP Chris Huhne also shows the severity of lying.

So don’t be tempted by the idea that you might have heard down the pub or the local golf club that you should just put your partner’s name down and she can take the points for that case. Be aware that there’s photographic evidence.

Road traffic lawyers

Photographic evidence in connection with these cases. And it will certainly be frowned upon and lead to a further charge if you were to attempt to mislead the police. If you need advice in relation to completing the notice of intended prosecution, give us a phone and tell us about the circumstances of your particular case and the points that are on your licence already. Do not get caught up in pretending your partner was driving. Face a prosecution head-on and with the truth and you have a far greater chance of succeeding. 

Failing to provide a breath sample

Failing to provide a breath sample is one of those charges that is a bit unfair on the motorist. When you’ve been pulled over by the police and you know that you haven’t been drinking and you know that you can prove that, and you have evidence of that it can be very frustrating when police officers have stopped you because they suspect you’ve been drink driving.

You think, well, why should I give a breath sample? Or at least can I speak to a lawyer and find out what my rights are? Unfortunately, you’re not entitled to speak to a lawyer at that stage. If the officer wants a sample, then it’s their duty to try to attain that as soon as possible. So the officer will ask you for the sample.

A police officer is not required to explain to you why they suspect you’ve been drink driving. They simply have to have that reasonable suspicion. They then take the sample from you. If you fail to give the sample, if you refuse on point of principle or for whatever reason, you’ll be charged with failing to provide a breath sample.

Failing to provide a sample ban

That’s a serious charge because it generally attracts an 18-month disqualification. Although the minimum is 12 months in Scotland. Sheriffs in general, tend to air on the higher side, perhaps thinking that it will dissuade others from who have been drinking. And failing to provide it would dissuade them from thinking this is a nice, convenient, easy way to get out of a 12-month burn eye to try to avoid justice.

An 18-month ban tends to be a starting figure for Sheriffs because they see it as a disincentive to others. It sends a message that if you fail to provide a sample, then you can expect a higher bond. If you actually had given a sample and even prove positive it is better for you in the long run.

Failure to provide a sample lawyer

Don’t ask for a lawyer straight away and don’t insist upon such matters, because all that will happen is you will be charged with a failure to provide a breath sample. And at the end of the day, you could be looking at a very, lengthy ban and the type of conviction on your record that nobody really wants to have.

If you’ve been charged in relation to failing to provide, please contact us. A lawyer will give you some more information about your own case. It’s totally free to call. We’re not looking for instructions at this stage. We simply want to give you some advice about your own case, and we’re quite happy to do that on a no-obligation basis. So contact us today.