Drink Driving

Drink-driving penalties

You could be imprisoned, banned from driving and face a fine if you’re found guilty of drink-driving.

The actual penalty you get is up to the magistrates who hear your case, and depends on your offence.

You may be able to reduce your ban by taking a drink-drive rehabilitation scheme (DDRS) course if you’re banned from driving for 12 months or more. It’s up to the court to offer this.

Being in charge of a vehicle while above the legal limit or unfit through drink

You may get:

Driving or attempting to drive while above the legal limit or unfit through drink

You may get:

Refusing to provide a specimen of breath, blood or urine for analysis

You may get:

Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink

You may get:

You will not automatically get your licence back if you’re a high risk offender.

Costs of getting your licence back when you’re allowed

If your driving licence is taken away because of drink-driving, you can find out what fees you’ll need to pay to get your licence back.

Other problems you could face

A conviction for drink-driving also means:

you may have trouble travelling to countries like the USA