Clarity Law

Specialist Traffic Law Firm Queensland

Displaying items by tag: uil

Tuesday, 25 May 2021 15:51

High Range Drink Driving Penalties

For most of our clients the most important question they have when they contact us is what will be the penalty for my high range drink driving charge?

It is as you would imagine it’s a difficult question to answer.  What penalty a court in Queensland will impose for a high range drink driving charge depends on a number of factors all discussed below.

 

DUI, UIL and high range drink driving what’s the difference?

In practice DUI, UIL and high range all refer to the same thing.  DUI is driving under the influence, its term more associated with America rather than Australia but has been gaining more popularity over the years.

UIL means under the influence, it is largely being replaced by the term DUI but it is the more correct term used in Queensland and the term used in the law and in court.

High range drink driving is a term commonly used in the court and by lawyers and prosecutors.  It can be used interchangeably with UIL.

 

How long will my licence be disqualified for?

With a high range driving charge the absolute minimum disqualification period is 6 months (if you have no other drink driving or similar charges in the last 5 years) and there is no upper limit.  The court can and likely will impose a fine and if the circumstances are such more severe penalties.

The actual penalty depends on a number of factors including;

  • Your reading
  • Did a crash occur
  • Was someone else in the car
  • Why you were driving
  • Your traffic and criminal history
  • Your personal and work situation
  • If you done a course like QTOP
  • What Magistrate hears your matter

 

Your Reading

Your Blood or breath alcohol concentration (BAC) is the amount of alcohol in your body and is measured by the concentration on alcohol in your breath or blood. It is measured in grams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.  Your reading will be over .15 if you are charged with drink driving.  The actual reading is a very important factor the Magistrate looks at when setting the penalty.

 

Did a crash occur

If there was a crash then this will increase the penalty.  This is especially true if other property was damaged or someone else was hurt in the crash.

 

Was someone else in the car

If someone else was in the vehicle then this may be a factor that the Magistrate takes into account as they would be concerned someone else was at risk.

 

Why you were driving

Why you were driving may be a factor.  If you were shifting the car a short distance or had been driving for a long period may affect the penalty.

 

Your traffic and criminal history

This is an important factor.  Your previous criminal and traffic history will be looked at closely by the Magistrate.  If you have previous drink driving charge this will almost certainly increase the penalty.  If the previous drink driving charge occurred in the last 5 years, and the police have served a notice to allege previous offences then the minimum disqualification will be increased.  For example if you had a low range drink driving charge in the last 5 years then the minimum disqualification increases from 6 months to 9 months disqualification.  Remember this is just the minimum disqualification the court can impose, they can impose penalties much higher than this.

 

Your personal and work situation

Your personal antecedents such as your personal and work situation will be taken into account by the Magistrate in setting the penalty.  This includes the impact the disqualification will have on your family and any impact on your ability to work.  If you are going to be restricted in your personal life or you will lose your job this is relevant factors for the Magistrate to consider.

 

If you done a road safety course

The recommended course in Queensland is QTOP

 

What Magistrate hears your matter

All the Magistrates in Queensland try and be consistent in setting a penalty.  In the ideal world this would mean you would get largely the same penalty whether your charges are heard in Southport Court, Beenleigh Court, Brisbane Court, Maroochydore court, Rockhampton court, Mackay Court or Townsville Court.

In practice each Magistrates has their own views on what the penalty for a high range drink driving charge should be.  This is one of the main reasons an experienced traffic lawyer who has appeared numerous times before the Magistrate is so important.

 

What other penalties will the court impose?

In almost all cases the court will also impose a fine.  In addition there is an offender levy that everyone must pay.

In cases where the reading is very high or where there was an accident or if the person has other drink driving charges the court may consider imposing

 

Will I go to prison?

Generally first time offenders would not be likely to be sent to prison however this depends on a number of factors including;

  • Was there a crash
  • Was any other cars or property damaged
  • Was anyone injured
  • What the blood alcohol reading was
  • If the person has a poor traffic history
  • Which Magistrate hears the matter

Only an experienced traffic lawyer can advise if a prison sentence is likely, even if it is the courts have the option of potentially suspending that sentence.  If you are worried about a prison sentence then get legal advice.

 

What can I do to minimise the penalty?

You should always engage an experienced  traffic lawyer to represent you if charged with high range drink driving.  Your lawyer can work out what things you need to do to reduce your penalty especially considering what Magistrate might be hearing your case.  In general we have found the following things useful in trying to reduce the penalty:

  • Character references
  • Attending a driving course like Queensland Traffic Offenders Program (“QTOP”).  We are a proud sponsor of QTOP and believe it is one of the most powerful things people facing a high range drink driving charge can do before their court date.
  • If you have any alcohol or mental health issues then obtaining appropriate medical help

 

Can I get a work licence?

No, with a high range drink driving charge you cannot apply for a work licence.

 

Should I get a Traffic Lawyer to represent me?

In a word, yes this is not an offence where you should simply turn up to the Court without a lawyer.  The consequences and penalties the Court may impose are too serious not to seek to minimise the penalty by having a drink driving lawyer with you.

 

Engaging Clarity Law to act for you

Engaging us gives you the best chance at obtaining the lowest disqualification period and a fine as low possible.   We are the leading drink driving law firm in South East Queensland, virtually everyday our lawyers are in Court getting the best outcome for clients.  Since 2010 we have appeared in over 1,500 drink driving cases and no one has the experience we do.  Just some of the benefits of us acting for you for your drink driving charge include;

  • we know the Magistrates and what they want to hear to give you the best outcome
  • we have good relationships with the Police prosecutors meaning we can often have them not object to the Court imposing the minimum disqualification period applicable.
  • we are there to help you through the process and make everything as stress free as possible, in most cases you will not have to say anything in Court
  • engaging us shows the Court you are taking your charges seriously
  • your matter will be heard early, often first, you do not have to wait for 20-30 other matters to be heard before you
  • you will be fully informed of what is to happen in Court and what this means for you after Court
  • unlike the police or the Judge, we are there to look after you, your privacy and your interests

 

What Courts do you appear in?

We appear in every Court in South East Queensland.  Just some of the Court we appear in are;

Brisbane

Beenleigh

Brisbane

Cleveland

Holland Park

Pine Rivers

Richlands

Sandgate

Wynnum

 

Sunshine Coast

Caboolture

Caloundra

Gympie

Maroochydore

Nambour

Noosa

 

Gold Coast

Beaudesert

Coolangatta

Southport

 

Ipswich

Ipswich

 

Darling Downs

Gatton

Toowoomba

 

We have offices at;

                Maroochydore

                Brisbane

                Brendale

                Gold Coast

                Ipswich

                Loganholme

  

What do you charge?

We charge a flat upfront fee for our services, that means no hidden charges or unexpected bills.  Our fees are clearly posted on our website so that you know exactly what your costs will be.   

To see what we will charge for a guilty plea to a drink driving charge click here

 

If I contacted you what would occur?

If you contact us then likely Steven Brough the firms founder or our office manager Belinda Smyth will take the call or receive the email. They have 40 years legal experience between them, we can provide immediate legal assistance and answer any questions you have. We will discuss your case, provide guidance and send a quote by email with additional relevant information about your charge, all at no cost.

If you want to engage us then it’s easy, there is a form you can complete and email back or complete online. If you don’t want to engage us or want to engage another firm that’s fine, you won’t be hassled and at worst you will just have more information about your charge. Once engaged one of our lawyers will go through your matter and contact you to discuss what the best way forward is to achieve the best results. Everyone of our lawyers are very experienced with thousands of courts appearances between them.

 

How do I get more information or engage you to act for me? 

If you want to engage us or just need further information or advice then you can either;

  1. use our contact form and we will contact you by email or phone at a time that suits you
  2. call us on 1300 952 255 seven days a week, 7am to 7pm
  3. email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We are a no pressure law firm, we are happy to provide information to assist you, if you want to engage us then great, if not then you atleast have more information about drink driving. You wont be chased or hounded to engage us.  Remember its critical you get advice before going to court, a drink driving charge no matter the reading will have an impact on you, your family and your employment or business.  

 

Need more information?

We have a range of articles on drink driving on our blog.  Some of the most recent have included:

 

Factsheet

We have available the most comprehensive factsheet about high range drink driving charges in Queensland.  Use the link below to download it.

{osdownloads download_button 1 "High Range Drink Driving Factsheet"}

 

This article general information only and not legal advice and is written subject to our disclaimer that can be read by clicking here

Liability limited by a scheme approved under professional standards legislation

Published in Legal Blog

We recently appeared in the Sandgate Court for a client facing the real prospects of a prison sentence. The client had been charged with unlicensed driving due to a previous court ordered disqualification and high range drink driving or driving UIL (also sometimes referred to as a DUI).

 

Making the situation much worse for the client is that he had, in the words of the Magistrate, a terrible history that included eight previous disqualified driving charges and seven previous drink driving (UIL) charges. In the previous five years there were two high range drink driving charges alone. As a result of the legislation where a person has three high range drink driving charges within five years, a prison sentence must form part of the penalty imposed by the Magistrate. This doesn't mean that a person will necessarily go to jail, but it means a jail sentence will be imposed and the question will then become whether or not they should get an immediate parole release date.

 

In our client's circumstance, we had to fight very hard to try and keep him out of jail. Specifically, we were seeking that the court impose a jail sentence for the drink driving charge with an immediate parole release meaning the client would be released from the court that day with a jail sentence hanging over their head should they breach their parole.

 

We also had to deal the disqualified driving charge and in that circumstance we sought a probation order so that in essence, the client would be on a parole and a probation order at the same time.

 

Ultimately, we were able to convince the Magistrate to do this given that the client clearly had a long standing alcohol abuse issues, even though he had never sought treatment in the past. One of the things that was the most concerning for the Magistrate was that he had spent time in jail for the exact same charges two years ago. Therefore, our job was made particularly difficult as we could not argue that a jail sentence with actual imprisonment was not an appropriate sentence because that had previously been imposed by an earlier court for the exact same charges.

 

The client did not help himself in that he failed to obtain the type of references that we had suggested that he obtain and had not done any of the driving courses that we had suggested. We did have the client assessed by the Probation and Parole Officer at Sandgate Court and ultimately they informed the court that there were courses and structures that could be put in place to try and minimise the likelihood that the client would reoffend. The Magistrate said that she was faced with a difficult task in that deterrence is the number one issue for the court. That is deterrence specifically of our client from committing these offences again and deterrence of anyone else committing this offence. If a too light a sentence is imposed then deterrence of our client may not be effective and deterrence of the general public committing the same type of offences would also be diminished.

 

Ultimately, we were able to convince the Magistrate not to send our client to jail. But it was perhaps the closest you can come to a potential prison sentence without actually being sent to jail. Our client will now be subject to quite close and strict supervision by Probation and Parole to try and ensure that he does offend again.  If he does offend in the next year he could be sent to prison for 28 days for breaching his parole order with further punishment likely.

 

There are some important lessons to learn from this type of offending and that is, it is important for a person to ensure that they have done everything prior to the court case possible to try and convince the Magistrate that they deserve a further chance by not being sent to jail. The other lesson to be learned is that disqualified driving especially where it combined with a drink driving charge (UIL) will be treated seriously by the Courts and there is a high possibly of receiving actual prison time for these types of offences, especially where like our client, the traffic history is poor.

 

If you need any information on drink driving offences or disqualified driving offences please contact us on 1300 952 255.  We appear in all courts in South East Queensland from Southport to Gympie.  

 

Published in Legal Blog
Monday, 29 May 2017 17:12

Three High Range Drink Driving Charges

Queensland law provides that where a person has two high range drink driving charges (a high range being above .15) and a person is again charged with another high range drink driving charge then the court must impose a sentence of imprisonment (all offences must occur within 5 years).  

In those circumstances the question becomes whether the person will actually spend time in jail.  Whilst the legislation says a term of imprisonment must be imposed, there are options other than a person spending time in jail.  Those options are either a wholly suspended sentence or an immediate parole release date.

A wholly suspended sentence involves a person being sentenced to a term of imprisonment but not being required to serve that imprisonment if they keep out of trouble for a length of time, usually 12-18 months.  This way a person can remain in the community with the prison sentence hanging over them for a period of time, if they behave no further action is taken, if they commit an offence that carries a jail sentence then they will be bought before the court to serve the original suspended sentence.

An immediate parole release date is where a person is sentenced to imprisonment but is released from court into the supervision of a parole officer.  They will be required to undertake courses and other programs but if they remain trouble free they will not have to serve the original sentence.

It is critical where a person is facing a high range drink driving charge especially for the third time that they get immediate legal advice.  It is essential that proper submissions are placed before the court by an experienced traffic lawyer to try and ensure that the court does not require the defendant to serve time in prison.

 

How do I get more help or engage you to act for me? 

We have been operating since 2010 and undertaken 1000’s of drink driving charges throughout South East Queensland.

If you want to engage us or just need further information or advice then you can either;

  1. Use our contact form and we will contact you by email or phone at a time that suits you
  2. Call us on 1300 952 255 seven days a week, 7am to 7pm
  3. email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  4. Visit our main website or drink driving page

We cover all courts in South East Queensland from the Gold Coast to Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast and out to Toowoomba.  We have 6 offices in South East Queensland to assist people. We are a no pressure law firm, we are happy to provide information to assist you, if you want to engage us then great, if not then you at least have more information about drink driving. You won’t be chased or hounded to engage us.  Remember its critical you get advice before going to court, a drink driving charge no matter the reading will have an impact on you, your family and your employment or business.  

 

Need more information?

We have a range of articles on drink driving on our blog.  Some of the most recent have included:

This article general information only and not legal advice and is rewritten subject to our disclaimer that can be read by clicking here

 

Published in Legal Blog
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A QP9 (Queensland Police Form 9 or police court brief) is a document prepared by the Police Prosecutions unit when someone is charged with an offence. The QP9 lists the exact charge with a brief description of the facts which the Police are alleging against you as well as attaching any criminal or traffic history. Depending on what Court your matter is to be heard in, and how busy the Police are, the document will be provided prior to your Court date or at Court.

It is essential to carefully go over the QP9 prior to entering a plea before the Court, as you are not only pleading guilty to the charge but also to all the facts and circumstances surrounding the charge that the Police allege in the QP9, this may include the way you acted towards the Police, things that you said or admitted or information recorded by the Police that you may believe is incorrect or inaccurate. This should be remembered when being charged as harsher penalties or less leniency can apply if the document states that you were rude, unruly, unhelpful etc. Also being aggressive when being charged can easily result in a further charge of resisting arrest or obstructing or assaulting police.

Obtaining the QP9 or having a Lawyer obtain the document for you and having a thorough look over the QP9 before you enter your plea is essential so that if there is any discrepancies they are looked into.

In Court the Police will read out the charge and a brief rundown of their version of events from the QP9. It is then that your Lawyer, or yourself if you are self-represented, can have your say to the Magistrate. If there are significant factors from the QP9 in which you disagree with it may be possible to draft submissions and put them forward to the Police Prosecutions asking them to reconsider the charge or amend what is written in the QP9. A Lawyer can advise you as to the possibility of making submissions and if what the likely chances of the Prosecutor accepting them would be.

Some examples of our success in getting the Police Prosecutions to lower or dismiss charges are:

  • 1.       Our client was charged with dangerous driving whist effected by alcohol and drink driving. A person cannot be charged with both offences, only one or the other. We addressed this with the Police Prosecutions and the result was the charge of drink driving was withdrawn.

 

  • 2.       Our client was charged with unlicenced driving. At the time that the letter had come from Queensland Transport telling our client his licence was suspended our client had been suffering an extremely traumatic string of events. On these grounds we were able to convince the Police to withdraw the unlicenced driving charge.

 

  • 3.       Our client was charged with driving under the influence of drugs, being the higher of the two drug driving charges. Upon receiving the drug analysis certificate and after going over the QP9 document we were able to have the Police agree to downgrade the charge to driving with a relevant drug in the client’s system.

 

In more serious matters it is possible to request a full brief of evidence. This document is like a QP9 but much more detailed and will include any witness statements, CCTV or audio footage. Where applicable it is also possible to request any Police body camera or police vehicle camera footage that may be available.

Needless to say engaging a Lawyer to represent you ensures that all avenues are explored to ensure all aspects are covered and you ultimately receive the absolute best outcome possible.

Here at Clarity Law we appear in the Courts with clients all over South East Queensland. It is this experience that allows us to get the absolute best result for clients.  Other law firms simply don’t have the experience that we do and don’t know the Magistrates like we do.  We also offer the most competitive prices for representation in Queensland click here to see what we will charge.  If you want to engage us or just need further information or advice then Call us on 1300 952 255 seven days a week, 7am to 7pm.

 

 

Disclaimer:

The information provided is for informational use only, and are in no way intended to constitute legal advice or to create a lawyer-client relationship, and you should not act or rely upon any information appearing in this article without seeking the advice of a lawyer. Moreover, because the law is constantly changing, the information appearing in this article are not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up-to-date.  Steven and Clarity law only undertake matters in Queensland.

 

Clarity Law's liability limited by a scheme approved under professional standards legislation.

Published in Legal Blog