Client Charged with Dangerous Driving - Avoids Prison

Case study summary

Our client was a 36-year-old who struggled with alcohol dependency. He was charged with dangerous driving along with three other driving offences. The prosecution argued that he should be sent to prison, but we persuaded the magistrates that this should not be the case.

Case study

Our client was a 36-year-old Forklift Truck Driver from Manchester. Following a collapse in his relationship and a close family member receiving a cancer diagnosis, he had become dependent on alcohol. He was charged with dangerous driving, failing to stop when required to do so by the police and failing to provide a specimen. It also became apparent that he had a separate ongoing speeding matter from six months earlier.

The prosecution argued that our client was driving his car whilst one tyre was missing. When he was asked to stop by the police, he ran away from them. He was eventually arrested and refused to provide a specimen of breath. Six months prior to this he had also been captured driving at 46mph in a 30mph zone. A prison sentence was a real possibility in this case so he came to our specialist motoring lawyers for representation.

We obtained evidence to support the fact that our client had been suffering with depression and anxiety which led to his alcoholism. Our in-house advocate used this evidence to convince the magistrates to impose a community order rather than a prison sentence. Part of the order included participation in rehabilitative programmes. This enabled our client to undergo treatment for his alcohol dependency and attempt to rebuild his life.