How
long will my licence be disqualified for drink driving?
Minimum
disqualification periods for drink driving;
Concentration
of alcohol in blood in grams per 100 millilitres
of blood or in breath in grams per 210 litres of exhaled
air |
First offence
|
Subsequent offence
|
| Zero
limit drivers under .05 |
Discretionary
loss up to 6 months |
If
not convicted no mandatory licence loss
If
convicted 12
months |
|
Drivers
under .07% and over
26
years old |
If
not convicted no mandatory licence loss period
If
convicted 6 months |
12
months |
less
than .07% |
6
months |
12
months |
.07%
or more but less than .08% |
6
months |
14
months |
.08%
or more but less than .09% |
6
months |
16
months |
.
09% or more but less than 10% |
6
months |
18
months |
.10%
or more but less than .11% |
10
months |
20
months |
.11%
or more but less than .12% |
11
months |
22
months |
.12%
or more but less than .13% |
12
months |
24
months |
.13%
or more but less than .14% |
13
months |
26
months |
.14%
or more but less than .15% |
14
months |
28
months |
.15%
or more but less than .16% |
15
months |
30
months |
.16%
or more but less than .17% |
16
months |
32
months |
.17%
or more but less than .18% |
17
months |
34
months |
.18%
or more but less than .19% |
18
months |
36
months |
.19%
or more but less than .20% |
19
months |
38
months |
.20%
or more but less than .21% |
20
months |
40
months |
.21%
or more but less than .22% |
21
months |
42
months |
.22%
or more but less than .23% |
22
months |
44
months |
.23%
or more but less than .24% |
23
months |
46
months |
.24%
or more |
24
months |
48
months |
The
above is a guide to the Minimum Licence
disqualification for drink driving that you will
face.
If
you contest the charges ie plead not guilty and are successful
you obviously do not end up with any licence disqualification
period at all.
The
only discretion the Court has when you plead guilty to drink
driving is for a first time offender who has a reading of
under .07, holds a full licence and is over 26 years old.
In
that situation we would ask a Court not to disqualify your
driving licence.
Once
you are outside that discretion the Court has an obligation
to disqualify you for a mandatory minimum period for drink
driving.
The
Court can not impose a work licence that allow you to drive
for work purposes. They used to exist in various jurisdictions
but were stopped many years ago for drink driving.
Please
note that the periods of disqualification for drink driving
are the minimum periods of disqualification. It is the job
of your lawyer to try to make sure that any period is limited
as far as possible to the minimum disqualification. The
sort of factors that the Court takes into account in assessing
this issue are whether you were involved in an accident,
whether your driving was particularly dangerous and whether
any one was injured due to your driving etc.
Explaining
these factors and how to present your case in the best way
to the Court are why you need expert criminal lawyers acting
for you to keep any licence disqualification
to a mimimum. We are very experienced in drink driving cases
and traffic offences and solicitors of ours appear daily
in the Courts in these sorts of matters.
Two
of our solicitors, Bill Doogue and Conor O'Brien are accredited
criminal law specialists with the Law Institute of Victoria.
How
long will my licence be disqualified for drink driving?
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