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Defending
Drink Driving Offences in
Victoria
Drink driving
laws in Victoria are constantly getting
tougher. It is now quite difficult for
offenders to retain their driver's
licence in ordinary cases. For most
drivers it is not possible to plead
guilty and save your licence.
Nevertheless, every driver charged with
drink driving has a chance of keeping
their licence. Please read the
drink
driving FAQ
as it answers many common questions on
contesting drink driving
offences.
Police give drink
drivers a traffic
infringement
notice if
they are first offenders under 0.15%.
All other offenders are served with a
charge
and summons
to appear in court.
In most cases
challenging the charge in court is
essential if drivers want to avoid
losing their driver's licence.
S. P. Hardy has
successfully defended many drivers
charged with traffic offences and saved
them from mandatory licence loss. Every
person charged with a drink drive
offence has a chance to keep their
driver's licence if the case is handled
properly. The chance of success is not
affected by how high the reading is,
how many prior offences you have or
your personal circumstances.
Victoria's drink
driving laws are strict liability
offences. They carry harsh mandatory
licence loss penalties which leave no
room for forgiveness, excuses or second
chances. Often that operates unfairly,
so getting quality legal assistance is
often the only way to oppose the
draconian nature of these mandatory
penalties. The absence of any court
discretion and no option for
drive-for-work licences makes it
necessary to win in court if your
livelihood is at stake. If you need to
avoid licence loss you should get
expert legal advice at the earliest
opportunity.
Any driver with
an alcohol concentration at or over
0.07% will need to win in court if they
wish to keep their licence. All second
offenders need to win their case in
court if they want to keep their
licence. People who receive a notice of
immediate
suspension
of driver's licence are able to appeal
against the suspension to regain their
licence pending the court hearing.
Before you decide
what to do with your case, you should
read the pages on breath
tests,
fines,
the
drink driving
FAQ,
penalties
and
legal
advice
because those
pages explain your options clearly and
answer all common questions. You should
avoid wasting your time calling me with
simple questions that are already
answered on this site because I will
merely refer you back to these pages.
The first step to
getting legal advice is to contact me
to make an appointment. The best time
to make an appointment is as soon as
you receive a court date, or
immediately if your licence is
suspended prior to the court
case.
I have a thorough
knowledge of all Victoria's
drink
driving laws
and I regularly challenge the
interpretation and effect of these laws
in the Supreme Court. I specialise in
winning drink driving cases. My clients
usually need to win to save their
licence. Pleading guilty is a last
resort. Although most of my work
involves defending drink driving
charges, I also act for people who want
expert representation in court on a
plea of guilty, in order to keep
licence loss periods, fines and jail
terms to a minimum.
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