Drink driving sentencing guidelines give the Magistrates’ Court a structured framework for deciding the appropriate sentence after a person pleads guilty or is found guilty.

The alcohol reading usually provides the initial sentencing category, but it does not decide the outcome on its own. The court also considers factors such as previous convictions, the standard of driving, any passengers or collisions, personal mitigation and credit for a guilty plea.

In this guide, JMW’s drink driving solicitors explain how drink driving sentencing guidelines work in practice and how the court moves from an alcohol reading to a fine, community order, custodial sentence and driving ban.

What Are the Sentencing Guidelines for Drink Driving?

The Sentencing Council publishes guidelines for criminal courts in England and Wales. Courts must follow any relevant sentencing guidelines unless doing so would be contrary to the interests of justice.

The guidelines aim to promote consistency while allowing magistrates to consider all the relevant circumstances of an individual drink driving case.

For driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol, the court follows several stages:

1. Confirm the alcohol reading.
2. Identify the starting point and sentencing range.
3. Consider aggravating and mitigating factors.
4. Consider previous convictions.
5. Apply credit for any guilty plea.
6. Decide the length of the driving ban.
7. Consider a rehabilitation course and other orders.

Driving or attempting to drive above the legal limit carries an unlimited fine, up to six months’ imprisonment and a minimum 12-month disqualification.

Which Drink Driving Offence Is the Court Sentencing?

The court must first identify the exact offence because different drink driving offences have different sentencing guidelines.

The main offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988 include:

• Driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol
• Driving or attempting to drive while unfit through drink
• Being in charge of a motor vehicle with excess alcohol
• Being in charge while unfit through drink
• Failing to provide a required specimen without reasonable excuse

For an excess-alcohol offence, the prosecution relies on the concentration recorded through a breath test, blood sample or urine specimen. In England and Wales, the legal limit is 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, 80 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood or 107 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of urine.

A person may also commit an offence by being unfit through drink even where the prosecution does not rely on a precise alcohol reading.

How Does the Alcohol Reading Affect the Sentence?

For driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol, the alcohol reading establishes the guideline’s initial offence category.

The current guideline brackets include:

Equivalent brackets apply where the evidence comes from blood or urine.

These are starting points and ranges, not automatic sentences. Two people with the same alcohol reading can receive different outcomes because the court must also assess aggravating or mitigating factors.

What Is a Sentencing Starting Point?

A starting point gives the court an initial sentence before it considers the wider circumstances.

For example, a breath reading between 36 and 59 microgrammes produces a Band C fine as the starting point. A reading of 120 microgrammes or more produces a starting point of 12 weeks’ custody.

The court can then move above or below that point within the guideline range.

The starting point normally assumes that the offender has no relevant previous convictions and has been convicted after a trial. The court considers previous convictions and guilty plea credit separately.

What Aggravating Factors Can Increase the Sentence?

Aggravating factors make the drink driving offence more serious. They may cause the court to move above the starting point or towards the upper end of the sentencing range.

Relevant aggravating factors can include:

• Previous convictions, particularly for drink driving
• A collision or damage
• Carrying passengers
• Poor driving
• Driving for a prolonged distance
• Driving for commercial purposes
• Driving while disqualified
• Driving without a valid licence or insurance
• Failing to stop when required
• Committing more than one offence
• Placing vulnerable road users at risk

The alcohol reading and standard of driving are separate issues. A relatively low reading combined with serious careless driving may produce a more severe outcome than the reading alone suggests.

Where the driving falls far below the expected standard, the police or Crown Prosecution Service may consider a dangerous driving charge rather than treating the matter solely as drink driving.

What Mitigating Factors Can Reduce the Sentence?

Mitigating factors may move the sentence below the starting point or towards the lower end of the available range.

These may include:

• No previous convictions
• A short distance driven
• Genuine remorse
• Cooperation with the police
• Steps taken to address alcohol use
• A strong previous driving record
• A serious medical condition
• Being a sole or primary carer
• Evidence that the person has addressed the offending behaviour
• Exceptional personal circumstances

Focused evidence supports mitigation more effectively than general statements. Relevant material may include medical evidence, character references, confirmation of treatment or counselling, and details of caring responsibilities.

However, the effect of a driving ban on employment or family life does not automatically allow the court to avoid the statutory minimum disqualification.

How Do Previous Convictions Affect Sentencing?

Previous convictions can increase both the sentence and the driving ban.

A further relevant drink driving conviction committed within 10 years normally carries a minimum three-year disqualification rather than the usual 12-month minimum.

Repeat offending may also move the sentence towards a community order or custody. The court will consider:

• The number of previous convictions
• How recent they are
• Whether they involve similar driving offences
• Whether previous orders or rehabilitation measures prevented further offending

Certain repeat offenders and motorists with particularly high readings may also fall within the DVLA High Risk Offender Scheme.

How Does a Guilty Plea Affect the Sentence?

A guilty plea can reduce the punitive part of the sentence.

A plea indicated at the first stage of proceedings can normally receive a reduction of up to one-third. The available reduction decreases as the case progresses, and a plea entered on the day of trial usually attracts substantially less credit.

The reduction can apply to:

• A fine
• A community order
• A custodial sentence

It does not normally reduce a mandatory driving disqualification below the statutory minimum.

A person should not plead guilty merely to obtain credit without first understanding the criminal evidence and any available defence. Legal representation allows the defendant to assess whether the prosecution can prove the alleged offence beyond reasonable doubt.

How Does the Court Calculate a Fine?

An unlimited fine does not mean the court selects an arbitrary figure.

The magistrates apply a fine band linked to the offender’s relevant weekly income. They then consider aggravating and mitigating factors before applying any guilty plea reduction.

The court may also order:

• Prosecution costs
• A statutory surcharge
• Payment by instalments where appropriate

A person should provide accurate financial information. If no reliable information is available, the court may make assumptions about income.

When Will the Court Impose a Community Order?

A community order may apply where a fine does not adequately reflect the seriousness of the offence but immediate custody is not necessary.

Possible requirements include:

• Unpaid work
• Rehabilitation activity
• A curfew
• Alcohol treatment
• An accredited programme

The court may request a pre-sentence report before deciding which requirements are suitable. An alcohol treatment requirement will only be appropriate where the legal and practical conditions for that requirement are met.

The community order operates separately from the driving ban.

When Can Drink Driving Lead to Prison?

Custody becomes more likely where the alcohol reading falls within the highest guideline categories or where serious aggravating factors apply.

A prison sentence may be considered where the case involves:

• A very high alcohol reading
• Relevant previous convictions
• A collision
• Serious poor driving
• Passengers placed at risk
• Driving while disqualified
• Failure to comply with previous court orders

For excess alcohol while driving or attempting to drive, the maximum sentence is six months’ custody. Reaching a custody bracket does not automatically mean immediate imprisonment. The court must decide whether the custody threshold has been crossed and whether any custodial sentence can properly be suspended.

More serious offences, including causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink, carry substantially greater penalties.

How Is the Driving Ban Decided?

The guideline gives a disqualification range for each alcohol bracket. The court selects a period within that range after considering the offence’s seriousness.

For a first offence involving driving or attempting to drive, the minimum ban is generally 12 months. A relevant second offence within 10 years normally raises the minimum to three years.

Being in charge of a vehicle does not always lead to mandatory disqualification. Depending on the offence and circumstances, the court may impose penalty points or a discretionary ban.

Personal hardship does not usually prevent an obligatory drink driving disqualification. The “exceptional hardship” argument associated with penalty-point disqualifications does not provide a general route around the minimum drink driving ban.

What Are Special Reasons?

Special reasons are circumstances connected to the offence that may allow the court not to impose the usual disqualification or to impose a shorter ban.

Possible examples include:

• A genuine emergency
• Driving only a very short distance
• Alcohol being consumed without the driver’s knowledge
• Moving a vehicle to prevent a greater danger

A special reason is not a defence. The person remains convicted but asks the court to exercise its sentencing discretion.

The defendant must prove the special reason on the balance of probabilities. The court will consider evidence about why the person drove, the distance involved, the danger presented and whether another option was available.

Can a Rehabilitation Course Reduce the Ban?

The court may offer an approved drink-drive rehabilitation course when imposing a sentence.

Completing the course by the specified deadline can usually reduce the driving ban by up to one quarter. The court must offer the course, and the offender normally pays the fee.

The course does not:

• Remove the conviction
• Erase the endorsement
• Replace a High Risk Offender medical assessment
• Reduce a fine, community order or prison sentence

It only reduces the disqualification period.

What Happens at the Sentencing Hearing?

At the hearing:

1. The prosecutor outlines the offence and any previous convictions.
2. The court confirms the alcohol reading and guideline category.
3. The defence corrects inaccuracies and presents mitigation.
4. The magistrates consider any pre-sentence report.
5. The court announces the fine, community order or custodial sentence.
6. The court sets the driving ban.
7. The magistrates decide whether to offer a rehabilitation course.
8. The court orders costs and the statutory surcharge.

Most drink driving offences are dealt with in the Magistrates’ Court. A person accused of drink driving will therefore usually need to attend court rather than resolve the case through a fixed penalty.

How Can JMW Help With a Drink Driving Case?

Our expert motoring law team will first assess whether the prosecution can prove the offence. We review the breath test, police station procedure, blood sample or urine evidence and any medical condition that affected the provision of a specimen.

Where a person pleads guilty or is convicted, our legal team:

• Identifies the correct offence category and starting point
• Challenges inaccurate prosecution assertions
• Presents aggravating and mitigating factors accurately
• Prepares medical evidence and other supporting documents
• Advises on guilty plea credit
• Presents a special-reasons argument where appropriate
• Addresses the risk of custody
• Seeks the shortest justifiable driving ban
• Advises on rehabilitation courses and appeals