Drink Driving
Have you been charged with a drink driving offence? We can help you minimise the punishment a court may impose - this includes possibly reducing the licence disqualification period or having the charge dismissed.
Drink Driving Offences are considered "serious offences" in New South Wales. Drink Driving Offences attract heavy fines, long periods of licence disqualification and possibly a gaol sentence.
Drink Driving charges in NSW are subject to the level of Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol (PCA) that exceeds your legal limit. This limit is determined by the class of licence and the vehicle that is being driven. For example, a provisional licence holder has a zero limit and a bus driver has a 0.02 limit. For most motorists, the blood alcohol limit is 0.05.
Prime Lawyers has extensive expertise in representing people charged with drink driving related offences. We understand the serious consequences that can flow from not being able to drive. To minimise the hardship resulting from the severe penalties of drink driving charges contact the traffic law team at Prime Lawyers on (02) 8622 7900 or email your enquiry to us now and we will contact you shortly.
Drink Driving Charges in New South Wales (NSW)
In NSW, police have the powers to stop drivers at random to test for alcohol consumption. If you are asked by police to undertake a breath test and subsequently obtain a reading that is higher that your allowed Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol (PCA) limit, you are likely to be arrested and charged with one of the following:
Low Range PCA: 0.05 - 0.08
Mid Range PCA: 0.08 - 0.15
High Range PCA: 0.15 or higher
Novice Range PCA: 0.00 - 0.02
Special Range PCA: 0.02 - 0.05
Refuse Breath Analysis
Drink Driving Penalties in NSW
The penalties for drink driving are severe and the subsequent impact on your life can be significant. If you have been charged with a drink driving related offence you should engage expert legal assistance. With their extensive experience in defending against drink driving charges, Prime Lawyers will help lessen the burden of this unfortunate experience.
We have put together an article outlining the minimum and maximum punishments the courts may impose on you for the different types of drink driving charges. Please click here to read this.
Possible Defences to a Drink Driving Charge
There are several ways that you may have a drink driving charge dismissed against you or possibly reduce the charge, eg. a High Range PCA to a Mid Range or having a Mid Range PCA reduced to a Low Range:
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You were not driving a motor vehicle.
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The breath analysis back at the Police Station took place outside of 2 hours from the time you were driving.
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A breath test was taken at your home.
We frequently also arrange for our clients to obtain a pharmacology report from a Professor. It is possible that the Police PCA reading is incorrect and thus these reports can assist you. A Professor will take into consideration a number of factors before concluding what they believe your actual PCA reading would have been. A court can accept such evidence. Factors considered by the pharmacologist Professor which can affect your PCA reading are:
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Your height and weight.
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Your gender.
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Your age.
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Your body build.
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Your food intake on the day in question.
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Your alcohol intake on the day in question.
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If you were taking any prescribed or over the counter medication.
How can Prime Lawyers help?
Our drink driving lawyers have extensive experience in this field of law. If you are pleading guilty to a drink driving charge we are able to appear at Court with you and make submissions to the court in an attempt to lessen the penalty that the Court imposes. It is possible to obtain a section 10 dismissal of the charge also where the court does not record a conviction against you and our lawyers can assist you in possibly getting such a result.
If you wish to defend or reduce a PCA charge our drink driving lawyers can help. We will advise you of possible defences to your charge and appear in court with you. We can also arrange for a pharmacology report from a qualified Professor which can assist you in reducing a drink driving charge against you.
Contact us on (02) 8622 7900 to speak with one of our drink driving lawyers. Alternatively email your enquiry and we will contact you as soon as possible.
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