Can you still drive after being caught Drink Driving?

YES YOU can

Being changed with drink driving doesn’t mean that you are guilty of drink driving.

It means that the State are "alleging" (suggesting) that you have broken the law by driving with excess alcohol in your system.

This is the opening round in the State's argument against you.

But it is not proof that you broke the law.

You can drive until you are disqualified from driving.

If you are disqualified.  

Emphasis on the ‘if’.

Let me explain.

Only the judiciary can disqualify you from driving.

This is a core principle in democracies around the world.

Parliament creates laws, government institutions (police) implement them and the judiciary oversees them.  

The Judiciary are separate and distinct from both the Government and its bodies, including the police.

Only a Judge can disqualify you from driving.

The police cannot.

The role of the police is to prevent and detect crime.

They don’t decide cases.

That’s what judges do.

THE POLICE BRING PEOPLE to Court, but it is up to the Courts to determine whether they have actually broken the law.

The courts decide guilt or innocence, not the police.

The police investigate crime, not the judiciary.  

But the judiciary decide whether you’ve been guilty of any crime.

Nobody else.

These important democratic roles are never mixed.

So, if you are charged with drink driving, remember, this is just an allegation.

It's not proof.

A person may be convicted, or they may be acquitted.

And because the decision to disqualify someone is so huge, it’s something that can only be decided by a judge.

Not the police.  

I know that the idea that something like this

is “hanging over you” causes stress and anxiety.

It’s difficult to plan your future, especially

your work future, when you don’t know

what is going to happen.

The Judiciary are indep­endent.

They are independent of the police and the government.

So, if you are charged with drink driving you are still entitled to drive as long as you have insurance.

You can drive until you are disqualified from driving.

If you are disqualified.  

Emphasis on the ‘if’.

This leads to important question.

If you’re arrested how long does your trial take to come around?

My experience around the country is that the difference in time between being arrested and the trial date can be as much as 7-8 months.  

That’s at least 7-8 months after you’ve been arrested.

That’s an average estimate.

In many places it is considerably higher.

I know that the idea that something like this is “hanging over you” causes stress and anxiety.

It’s difficult to plan your future, especially your work future, when you don’t know what is going to happen.

That’s called “uncertainty”.

That feeling of uncertainty is very common and very understandable.  

But there is at least one advantage of waiting 7-8 months.  

It gives you and your legal team plenty of time to prepare.

That advantage is hugely undervalued.

And during this time, you can still drive.