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Defending
Drink Driving Offences in
Victoria
Drink driving
laws in Victoria are constantly getting
tougher. It is now quite difficult for
offenders to retain their driver's
licence in ordinary cases. For most
drivers it is not possible to plead
guilty and save your licence.
Nevertheless, every driver charged with
drink driving has a chance of keeping
their licence. Please read the
drink
driving FAQ
as it answers many common questions on
contesting drink driving
offences.
Police give drink
drivers a traffic
infringement
notice if
they are first offenders under 0.15%.
All other offenders are served with a
charge
and summons
to appear in court.
In most cases
fighting the charge in court is
essential if drivers want to avoid
losing their driver's licence.
S. P. Hardy has
successfully defended many drivers
charged with traffic offences and saved
them from mandatory licence loss. Every
person charged with a drink drive
offence has a chance to keep their
driver's licence if the case is handled
properly. The chance of success is not
affected by how high the reading is,
how many prior offences you have or
your personal circumstances.
Victoria's drink
driving laws are strict liability
offences. They carry harsh mandatory
licence loss penalties which leave no
room for forgiveness, excuses or second
chances. Often that operates unfairly,
so getting quality legal assistance is
often the only way to oppose the
draconian nature of these mandatory
penalties. The lack of court discretion
and no option for drive-for-work
licences makes it necessary to win in
court if your livelihood is at stake.
If you need to avoid licence loss you
should get expert legal advice at the
earliest opportunity.
Any driver with
an alcohol concentration at or over
0.07% will need to go to court if they
wish to keep their licence. All second
offenders need to defend their case in
court if they want to keep their
licence. People who receive a notice of
immediate
suspension
of driver's licence are able to appeal
against the suspension to regain their
licence pending the court hearing.
Before you decide
what to do with your case, you should
read the pages on breath
tests,
fines,
penalties
and
legal
advice
because those
pages explain your options clearly. You
should avoid wasting your time calling
me with simple questions that are
already answered on this site because I
will merely refer you back to these
pages.
I have a thorough
knowledge of all Victoria's drink
driving laws and I regularly challenge
the interpretation and effect of these
laws in the Supreme Court of Victoria or the Court of Appeal. I specialise
in winning drink driving cases. Clients
come to me to win, so pleading guilty
is always a last resort. In nearly all
cases it is not possible to advise a
driver whether or not to plead guilty
to a drink driving charge prior to the
first mention date. Although most of my
work involves defending drivers and
doing everything possible to save their
licence, I also act for people who wish
to plead guilty but still want expert
representation to ensure they keep
licence loss periods to a minimum
and/or avoid possible jail
terms.
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