Special reasons arguments.
Special reasons can be applied to any offence which carries obligatory disqualification or penalty points (e.g. speeding, driving without insurance, Fail to provide etc). The following text relates to drink driving special reasons examples and is not an exhaustive list.

Drink Driving ¢ Avoiding disqualification by establishing ¢special reasons¢

Despite being guilty of driving with excess alcohol (drink driving) which carries a mandatory minimum disqualification defendants can avoid being banned from driving by arguing ¢special reasons¢.

• For a set of circumstances to amount to a special reason there must be:
• a mitigating or extenuating circumstance
• not amounting in law to a defence
• directly connected with the commission of the offence
• which the court ought properly to take into consideration when imposing sentence.

(Unfortunately the fact that a disqualification for drink driving will cause the defendant exceptional hardship cannot amount to a special reason.)

The procedure is similar to a trail, subject all the rules of evidence and procedure, but at a special reasons hearing the burden is on the defendant (not the prosecution) to prove his case. The defendant will give evidence and call witnesses to establish his case and if successful can avoid a ban despite being guilty of drink driving.

Examples of special reasons cases:

Laced drinks 
The defendant must show that his drinks were laced, that he did not suspect his drinks had been laced and that had the lacing not taken place then he would not have been over the limit. In our experience a laced drinks argument is rarely successful without the ¢lacer¢ attending court to give evidence to confirm that the drinks were laced and it is usual for an expert biochemist to provide a report on behalf of the defence to confirm the mathematics of the defendant¢s argument.

Shortness of distance driven
The court will hear from the defendant, his witnesses and usually prosecution witnesses before considering seven established factors:      

• How far the vehicle was driven
• In what manner it was driven
• The state of the vehicle
• Whether the driver intended to go further
• The road and traffic conditions at the time
• Whether there was a possibility of danger by coming into contact with other road users or pedestrians
• Why was the car being driven?

Emergency
Unexpected and sudden medical emergency can amount to a special reason (and some suggest an actual defence) but only where the defendant can show that there was no alternative but to drive and that all other avenues had been explored without success.

There are many scenarios that can amount to special reasons and careful consideration has to be given to each case before a decision can be reached as to whether to run a special reasons argument or not.

For any enquiries please submit a message or contact us here