Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a major crime. If it’s something you have been arrested and charged with, you need to get in touch with a lawyer. Delaying legal representation could lead to you receiving a fine or a period of imprisonment, depending upon whether you have ever been arrested for it before.
The average person has no idea how to act or behave after being arrested, though. If you are reading this article, you’re probably in an unenviable position, so let’s get into it.
Hiring a professional lawyer
If you have been arrested for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you will need a lawyer’s help. Without legal help, mounting a drink and driving defence is going to be impossible for you to do. The reason you need a lawyer’s support is because they will have the knowledge and expertise necessary to represent you in court and in a police interview room. Police interview rooms can be very intimidating, so you need to make sure you have a lawyer there with you.
Until your lawyer arrives, you shouldn’t say a word. If you talk before your lawyer gets there, you could end up saying something incriminating. You need to do everything you can to avoid incriminating yourself. It’s likely that the police will perform a breathalyser test on you and if you fail that, take a blood test. You must not say anything, but you should comply with them. Not complying with their requests could lead to you getting into further trouble for obstructing the course of justice. Obstruction charges can yield hefty prison sentences and are easily avoided.
Being completely honest
With your lawyer, you need to be honest. However, as mentioned in the previous section, you mustn’t say anything to the police until they arrive to represent you. Your lawyer will be very disappointed if you say anything before they manage to get to you. Once your lawyer does arrive, you can go ahead and tell them your version of events. When you are talking to your lawyer, be as honest as possible. By being honest, they will be able to mount a more effective defence. If your defence is rooted in lies, it’s likely you’ll get a heavy sentence.
When it comes to finding a lawyer, you need to make sure you hire one who’s experienced and qualified. To do that, you can read online reviews. A lawyer’s reviews will give you a pretty good idea of what they are going to be like to work with. Make sure that the one you hire has received positive reviews on the internet. If the lawyer you choose to work with does not have any positive reviews, they are probably not experienced enough or the service that they offer is not worth the price that they are charging for it.
Collecting enough evidence
If you have been arrested for drunk driving but believe that you are innocent or that the machine the police used to breathalyse you was malfunctioning, try to collect as much evidence as you can. The difficulty with drunk driving is that you will likely be arrested immediately after the police catch you, which means you won’t be able to collect any evidence for yourself. In most police stations, they will give you a blood test if you ask them to. You can then use this in court if it shows you did not have high blood alcohol levels. If you were the victim of a drunk driving accident, get in touch with a lawyer and ask them to make a claim for compensation on your behalf. Compensation claims are hard to resolve without a lawyer’s support. Make sure the lawyer you hire offers their services on a contingency basis if you are looking for compensation, as that way you won’t have to pay your legal costs upfront. Legal costs can be a little excessive, making them impossible for the average person to pay.
Avoiding drunk driving to begin with
Drunk driving is a very serious crime. It is taken very seriously by the police because drunk drivers are significantly more likely to be involved in fatal road traffic collisions than other drivers are. If you’re caught drunk driving, you could end up being sentenced to a period of imprisonment. Every single time you get into your car and you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol you’re putting your life and the lives of others at risk. Given the access to ride-sharing, taxi services, public transport, etc, there’s no excuse for driving home drunk.
If you are caught drunk driving and then caught for the same thing again, there’s a high likelihood that you could be sent to prison. Prison sentences for drunk drivers who have not hurt anybody are not that heavy, but they are enough to disrupt people’s lives. Avoid drunk driving altogether.
Moving forwards regardless
If you do get arrested for drunk driving, make sure that you do everything you can to move forward with your life positively. You may be able to reduce your penalty or prison sentence by undertaking a specific course or getting some kind of rehabilitation.
Handling a drunk driving charge properly can be hard to do if you’ve never been in trouble with the police before. This post’s guidance should help you to make your way through such a case. Make sure that you get a qualified, experienced lawyer to represent you.
Darren is an expert on driving and transport, and is a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists
