- If drivers are found guilty of drink driving, they could be imprisoned, banned from driving and face a fine.
- The actual penalty they may receive is decided by the magistrates who hear the case, and depends on the details of your offence.
- Drivers may be eligible to reduce their driving ban by completing one of TTC’s (of which Licence Bureau is a part of) Drink Drive Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) courses if they are banned from driving for 12 months or more. It is up to the court to offer this.
Anyone convicted of a Drink Driving related offence will face either an obligatory (definite) or discretionary (possible) driving disqualification, depending on the specifics of the offence committed.
So for example, the offence of driving a vehicle while exceeding the maximum legal alcohol limit carries a minimum mandatory driving disqualification of 12 months.
While being in charge of a vehicle while exceeding the maximum legal alcohol limit carries a discretionary driving disqualification. In instances where no disqualification is imposed, then a minimum of 10 penalty points will be imposed on an offenders’ driving licence.
Regardless of whether or not a driving disqualification is imposed, a driving licence endorsement will be added to an offenders’ driving licence and will remain for between 4 and 11 years, depending on the offence. Any DVLA driving licence verification check will show any endorsements.
Additional penalties can include fines, community orders, court costs, compensation and in serious cases a custodial prison sentence.
We have detailed below the most common Drink Drive convictions, along with the possible outcomes and associated DVLA endorsement codes.
Being in charge of a vehicle while above the legal limit or unfit through drink: Road Traffic Act 1988, s.4(2)
You may get:
- 3 months’ imprisonment
- up to £2,500 fine
- a possible driving ban
If convicted, you will receive either of the following DVLA Endorsement Code(s) on your driving licence: DR20, DR80
Driving or attempting to drive while above the legal limit or unfit through drink: Road Traffic Act 1988, s.5(1)(a)
You may get:
- 6 months’ imprisonment
- an unlimited fine
- a driving ban for at least 1 year (3 years if convicted twice in 10 years)
If convicted, you will receive the following DVLA Endorsement Code on your driving licence: DR10
Refusing to provide a specimen of breath, blood or urine for analysis: Road Traffic Act 1988, s.7(6)
You may get:
- 6 months’ imprisonment
- an unlimited fine
- a ban from driving for at least 1 year
If convicted, you will receive either of the following DVLA Endorsement Code(s) on your driving licence: DR30, DR60
Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink: Road Traffic Act 1988, s.3A
You may get:
- 14 years’ imprisonment
- an unlimited fine
- a ban from driving for at least 2 years
- an extended driving test before your licence is returned
If convicted, you will receive either of the following DVLA Endorsement Code(s) on your driving licence: CD40, CD60
It is also worth noting that high-risk offenders do not automatically get their licence back.
ll conviction and legal information is current and correct at the date of publishing, sources under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL) from GOV.UK
