Drink driving: What would you do in a life or death situation? Emergency Situations and Special Reasons

Have you ever been in a situation where a loved one requires urgent medical attention and needs to be driven to a hospital? The ambulance is yet to arrive and the hospital is only 2 miles away, so you could probably make it in time if you drove – but after having had a few drinks, would you risk a drink driving conviction?

In limited exceptions and in grave circumstances such as the one outlined above, this may be classed as a ‘special reason’ why the court would choose to impose a penalty that is less than the usual mandatory 12 month ban that applies to drink driving.

In a life or death situation, the likelihood of you making a rational decision is lessened. Human emotions will more often than not play a significant part in our decision-making process. A conviction for most road traffic offences brings with it penalty points, a licence endorsement or a disqualification from driving. Motorists are convicted when they either plead guilty to a summons or charge, or are found guilty after a trial. In the instance of drink driving or dangerous driving, the minimum 12 month disqualification is mandatory with its length (for which there is no maximum limit) to be decided by the court.

Drink driving under English law is punishable if you;

(a) Drive a motor-vehicle on a public road; or

(b) In a public place; and

(c) You are over the prescribed limit.

Penalties for this offence are severe and will attract a mandatory disqualification of twelve months.  This will depend on the individual circumstances and seriousness of the offence. This also applies to drug driving and failing to provide a specimen offences. There are many ways we are able to defend a drink driving charge. However, sometimes if there is a valid special reason that could persuade the court to impose a lesser penalty than the usual mandatory minimum, this may be the way forwards.

The law distinguishes between reasons that are routine and ordinary (i.e. I was late for work) and reasons that are so closely linked with the commission of the offence, that it qualifies for the term ‘special’. A Special Reason is a reason, specific to a case which is directly relevant to the act of committing the offence but does not amount to a defence. In order to convince the court to accept a special reasons argument, you can either plead guilty but indicate that you plan to argue a special reason or you can raise special reasons after you are convicted at trial.

If your reason is accepted, this will allow the court to effectively divert from the sentencing guidelines and impose an alternative sentence that is more appropriate considering the circumstances.

Sometimes this could mean a reduced disqualification period or even penalty points where the usual penalty is a ban. In some lesser offences that ordinarily attract points, the court can impose no penalty yet still convict you of the offence.

The most common special reasons employed are:

(a)  An emergency situation;

(b)  Spiked Drinks / Laced Drinks; and

(c)  Shortness of distance driven.

The case for a special reason is very narrowly defined. For the Court to consider the reason – it must be:

(a)  Extenuating by nature (lessen the seriousness of the offence committed);

(b)  Must be directly connected to the offence itself;

(c)  Must not amount to a defence; and

(d)  The matter must be one that the court ought properly to take into consideration when imposing punishment.

There is a high standard of proof with regards to special reasons to avoid them being used as a tool to deceive the courts or simply justify the motorist’s wrongdoing. Therefore, it is normal that the Court will scrutinise the reason and situation surrounding the offence in significant detail.

Therefore, if you were in an emergency situation (as above) and advanced a special reason if you were caught drink driving – the Court would consider factors such as:

a.     How much you had to drink;

b.     The seriousness of the emergency;

c.     Why you had to drive and couldn’t get anyone else to drive;

d.     If there was a risk presented to other road users; and

e.     The distance you drove.

Note: this is a non-exhaustive list

Considering these factors, as you were over the limit, the general position will be that it would not make sense for you to drive someone else to hospital unless absolutely necessary.

That said, a different approach is likely to apply in the case of a speeding allegation where the special reason of emergency is argued as in the case of our client Lloyd Ansermoz whose son was critically ill in a hospital and he avoided penalty altogether despite being caught driving 128mph on the motorway.

In stressful situations, it can be hard to make an informed decision in a worried state. Emergency situations have been slow to be recognised by the courts, especially where the was another, more appropriate course of action available. The ‘emergency’ would be objectively considered by the Court

Sometimes, after having weighed up the pros and cons of a situation, motorists choose to break the law through necessity. Even though this may have been decided with the best intentions, the courts sometimes find themselves still having to hand out harsh penalties. A balance still needs to be struck between allowing special reasons and maintaining strict control of the law.