Boorman Lawyers – Beenleigh Court DUI Lawyers take a look at a Low Range Drink Driving Offence that we appeared on in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court where we obtained a great outcome for our client.
DUI Video #TimeStamps
00:13 – Welcome to Boorman Lawyers Video Update
00:26 – Low Range Drink Driving Offence at Beenleigh Court
00:55 – Client consumed drinks the night before the offence
01:20 – Police set up RBT on the outskirts of town
01:36 – We had matter transferred from Longreach to Beenleigh
02:00 – Client reliant upon his licence to work
02:25 – Our client did have a prior drink drive charge 4.5 yrs ago
02:43 – As a repeat offence – client cannot apply for Work Licence
03:25 – We tendered a number of supporting evidence
04:12 – Completed the SAVE Traffic Offenders Program
05:05 – We needed to focus on the positive issues in clients favour
05:36 – We got the minimum disqualification & $350 fine
06:20 – Visit our website BoormanLawyers.com.au OR call 1300 941 900 (FREE 1st Call)
07:00 – Contact DUI Lawyers https://boormanlawyers.com.au/contact/
It’s Josh Boorman here from Boorman Lawyers. Today, I just want to have a quick chat here on this very hot Brisbane day about a matter that have just come out of Beenleigh Magistrates Court to deal with. It was a low range drink driving offence. They call it a drive of the general limit but onto the middle range limit where my client’s blood alcohol rating was .075, so it was probably in the middle section of the low range category.
My client had been on a road trip with his brother. They’ve been travelling out Far West Queensland, Central Australia area and that pulled into a little rural town for the night. My client had had a number of drinks from about 4 p.m. ‘til 10 p.m. the night before before retiring to bed. He got up the next day. He felt fine. He didn’t feel hangover and intoxicated, and he sincerely believed that since about 12 hours had passed since his last drink, he would be okay to drive his vehicle and he sincerely believed he would beyond to the limit.
Unfortunately, for him, he wasn’t. Police were conducting RBT. Patrols have been set up on the outskirts of this rural town and it was pulled over and very much to his shock and surprise. He was over their legal limit at .075.
The matter was sit down initially at a Low Range Magistrates Court. What we did is we were able to have the matter transferred courts [ph] [0:01:42.1] since where my client lives at Beenleigh Magistrates Court and that’s why I’ve just come out of the sentence hearing there today.
Ultimately, my client instructed me and we put evidence before the Court that my client was an independent contractor in the trading industry. He’s very reliant upon his driver’s license to be able to carry out his job and work. And he’s married. He’s got two young kids. His wife doesn’t work. He’s the sole commander for that family. In very concerning times that he was facing quite a lengthy period of time off the road.
Unfortunately, also for him, he did have a prior drink driving offence only about four and a half years ago and because it was within the last five years, it does mean that he’s a repeat offender and that this low range drink driving offence will be quasi as a second offence which automatically increases the penalties and disqualification periods. It also means that he’s precluded from applying for a restricted work license in Queensland.
Our ultimate goal there today was to try and get a reduction of disqualification period so he could get back on with his life and back on the road to help provide for his family again in the near future. The disqualification period that he was looking at was anywhere between the minimum period of three months right through to 18 months off the road and we’re certainly hoping to get the significant reduction in that regard.
When it came before the Magistrate, we tended a number of documents of evidence. We provided to hereon a letter of apology from my client. We also arranged for my client’s wife to prepare a letter of support in favour of him just to show how they really rely upon him at home. They’ve got two kids and he is a responsible caring loving father and husband. We also got a letter from the managing director of the major company that he contracts for, and this went a long way to show that and prove and confirm to the Court that he does require a license to be able to travel from site to site and perform his job. So they were good character reference and letters of support which we’re able to tended to the Court which were received well by the Magistrate.
The other big step that my client took was to go and undertake the QLD Traffic Offenders Program. Now, this is the one-day program which is just been introduced to Queensland. It’s called the SAVE Traffic Offenders Program and it’s a very well-rank course. Basically, he went along. He completed this program, fills out a booklet, was given the completion certificate and we’re able to tended that white booklet and completion certificate to the Magistrate to show that he has taken proactive steps to re-educate himself about drive safety and alcohol effects to body. And certainly, being a second offense on his history, the Magistrate thought that that was certainly a positive step for him going forward into the future.
In relation to presenting the case, I put forward persuasive to oral submission so my client didn’t have to speak. And I’ve really pressed upon the positive things going for my client and try to really award it then and mitigate the more serious issues that hand obviously the fact that he was caught with a blood alcohol rating of .075. The submissions were well-received by Her Honour. She actually said with me throughout my submissions that she was with me on a number of points and that she was willing to reduce the disqualification period the full way down to the absolute minimum disqualification.
Ultimately, the result was we got a complete reduction of disqualification down to the minimum and a $350 fine and no conviction was recorded, so a really, really positive outcome for my client. He really does know now that he can get over this hurdle, get back on with work soon rather than later and provide support for his family. But not only that, taking wise and very serious and significant lessons out of this offence and he has vowed and never to be back before the courts again.
So guys, if you’ve been charged with serious traffic offence in Queensland, a drink driving offence, drug driving offence and license driving, disqualified [ph] [0:06:15.3] driving, any of those types of offences, then please feel free to give me a call on 1-300-941-900 or go along to the website which is boormanlawyers.com.au. That’s B-O-O-R-M-A-N, lawyers.com.au. There’s a raft of information there.
And if you’ve been charged with the traffic offence, go along to the traffic law section,
Queensland section, you’ll be all then find the hype of information, blog posts, the chats, videos, a whole ray of information about traffic law in Queensland. And then if you would like to have a chat to me about getting us on board to represent you in your court appearance, it comes on. We’ll be happy to discuss that with you.
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