If you were taken to hospital then please click here
If a police officer had reasonable suspicion that you committed an offence then they are able to require you to provide certain samples for analysis (breath, blood or urine). The term “reasonable suspicion” is hugely ambiguous and officers have justified requiring roadside breath samples and making arrests for seemingly trivial reasons such as a headlight being out.
Whilst the roadside requirement is important, it is not as significant as the requirement the officers make at the police station as if you fail to provide the sample at this stage the penalties are similar to those imposed for drink and drug driving.
If you are charged with this offence already it does not mean that you have to plead guilty and we have an outstanding success rate of defending these matters at trial.
The reasons why you failed and whether or not you genuinely tried to comply with the officers’ requirement is crucial so please contact us to discuss your case in more detail.
The vast majority of our clients walk away from court with their licence intact.
Road Traffic Law is a niche and specialised area of criminal law. There are only a handful of firms with genuine expertise in this area. If you instruct us to help you, we rigorously scrutinise every aspect of your case which will include the following:
There is no definitive list of circumstances that amount to a “reasonable excuse” so we would strongly recommend contacting us on 020 7923 4020 for an informal chat about the specifics in your case.
Failing to provide a specimen is treated in a similar way to cases of drink or drug driving. This is to deter suspects from failing to provide on purpose to guarantee them a lesser penalty when suspected of having committed an offence of driving whilst over the limit.
A minimum disqualification of 12 months must be imposed to those who plead guilty or are found guilty of failing to provide. When considering sentence, the court will look at:
If it is your second offence within a 10 year period then you will lose your licence for a minimum of 3 years and in serious cases the court can consider a custodial penalty.
There is also a Level 5 (unlimited) fine attached to this offence .
A conviction for failing to provide a specimen will go onto your record as a criminal one but there are more far reaching consequences that are not immediately apparent such as:
Court proceedings can be one of the most daunting experiences that anyone goes through due to the potential consequences of a conviction. Our lawyers will listen and not judge you as we understand the impact that a conviction can have.
We have a proven track record of client-acquittals and this is an area we genuinely specialise in.
Please contact us to discuss your case further to see if we can help you.
The costs of representation will largely depend upon whether you decide to plead guilty or not guilty.
Your first court date will be when you must attend and confirm whether you are pleading “guilty” or “not guilty”.
If you plead guilty to the charge then in most cases only one hearing is required and we can agree a fixed fee. If you plead not guilty, then it may be several months before your trial date and the fees incurred will be influenced by:
For more detail about the fee structure and payment options contact us on 020 7923 4020 to discuss your case in more detail.