Boorman Lawyers Hornsby Drink Driving Lawyers recently appeared on for a Low Range DUI (Repeat Offender) at Hornsby Local Court.
Low Range DUI Facts
Welcome to BoormanLawyers.com.au I’m Josh Boorman, solicitor at Boorman Lawyers.
We recently represented a client on a Low Range DUI (Repeat Offender) at Hornsby Local Court.
It was a relatively low blood alcohol reading at 0.058 however, the concerning thing with this offense was that it was not my client’s first drink driving charge. He has two prior drink driving offenses with the latest being only four years ago.
So basically, that means he is considered a repeat offender especially in relation to the prior offense four years ago. The law says that any second or subsequent offense within a 5 year period automatically means that the offender will have to enter into an Alcohol Interlock Program for a specific period of time. These new laws came into effect as of 1 February 2015 making it mandatory for any high-range drink drivers or repeat DUI offenders to enter into the Alcohol Interlock Program.
What we were able to do was to explain to the Court some of the circumstances surrounding why my client got into the car and what significant steps he has taken since the offence occurred in order to fix the root cause of his offending behaviour which centred around his alcohol addiction and alcoholism.
Hornsby Traffic Offenders Program
The first step was we got our client along to the Traffic Offenders Program located in Hornsby.
This was the fully approved 6 week course that was run by the Hornsby PCYC Traffic Offenders Program Police Citizens Youth Club. He completed that course to a very good standard and what he did notice halfway through completing this course is that he should go along and see a medical practitioner or a GP to obtain some sort of professional medical help and that’s exactly what he did.
Medical Help for Alcoholism
He was able to go along speak to a doctor and the doctor was able to prescribe him with some medication to help him abstain from drinking alcohol and certainly go to helping his alcoholism. We were basically able to tender the evidence to the Court today to show that he had been prescribed with his medication, that he had seen the doctor and that he was doing well after taking his medication.
So this was all well-received by the Magistrate, who was glad to hear that as a repeat offender our client has taken some intervention and some significant steps in going to fixing the root cause of his offending behaviour, which is his alcoholism.
Subjective issues surrounding his family & work
The other thing we’re able to show the Court was that he is a father with young boy. He shares custody of his child and does have significant parental responsibilities in looking after his son. Not only that, but he is also a person who works in the trade industry, he is required to drive his vehicle and use it for the purpose of not just getting out to work at various different locations throughout Sydney, but also to transport heavy tools and equipment to and from each location throughout the day.
So it was impressed upon the Court that the time that he is off the road will mean that he will be unable to work and as a result he will suffer significant financial hardship.
DUI Results & Overview
So we were able to get the automatic period of disqualification significantly reduced and ultimately he was disqualified for a period of 1 month starting from the day of the Court hearing. However, he does have to complete the 12 months minimum period for the Alcohol Interlock Program participation period.
Certainly, my client was very apologetic and remorseful over this incident. It was a relatively low-range rating at 0.058 but he does know that the legal limit is there for a reason. He is far better educated on driver safety having now completed the Traffic Offenders Program and certainly, he is very willing to comply with the interlock program so as to move forward with his life and be able to continue earning an income for him and his young son.
The other biggest thing out of this which was a real positive is the fact that he has obtained professional medical help for his alcohol addiction. He’s been prescribed with medication and since he’s been on the medication, he has not consumed any alcohol whatsoever. So this is definitely positive steps in the right direction for our client. I think my client is certainly on a good positive track heading into the future.
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