Low range drink driving | Section 10 (case study)

Case facts

The client worked as a DJ and attended a party one evening from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. During the night he was careful to consume no more than two drinks within the first hour and one drink every hour after that.

He was stopped by police for a random breath test while driving home. The test returned a positive reading and he was arrested and taken to the police station. Further analysis gave a reading of 0.06 grams of alcohol in 210 litres of breath. This placed him in the low range drink driving category. The evidentiary certificate was issued to prove the reading in court.

Our client relied on his licence for work as he had several forms of employment as well as his DJ job, including teaching and performing music. He also had a long-term goal of working in the film and production industry overseas, which could have been affected by a conviction. The client had no prior criminal record and obtained excellent character references.

Case result

The client sought legal advice from Nyman Gibson Miralis and our solicitor made submissions to the magistrate on his behalf. The client enrolled in the Traffic Offender Intervention Program and a certificate was issued to the court to be taken into account in the sentencing proceedings.

Our solicitor was able to successfully persuade the court for a section 10, meaning the client was not convicted, he was not disqualified from driving and the matter was dismissed conditionally upon him entering into a good behaviour bond for a period of time.

A good outcome

The client was a first time offender within a five year period. If he hadn’t been able to get a section 10, the maximum penalty would have included a fine of up to $1,100 and an automatic disqualification period of six months and no less than three months. A conviction could also have impacted on his ability to work and travel overseas in the future.