The Situation: Our client, *John, had a few drinks at the pub with his friend. On his way home he was pulled over by police and breathalysed with a BAC of 0.074. He had no previous convictions for drink or drug driving on his traffic history.

His job requires him to work 5 days each week between the hours of 5:00am and 6:00pm, travelling to locations around South East Queensland to attend call outs for plumbing work. He is unable to use public transport to attend these jobs as he is required to have access to a variety of tools and equipment in his vehicle.

Our client pleaded guilty to the offence of low range drink driving and an application was made for a restricted licence for the purpose of his work.  His employer provided an affidavit stating that he would not be able to offer him employment while his licence was disqualified.

We were able to show that this would cause him extreme hardship and that due to his previous good behaviour, he was a fit and proper person to hold a restricted licence.

The Result: A win for our client. He was convicted and fined $600 and his licence was disqualified for 1 month. His application for a work licence was granted, allowing him to drive for the purpose of his work between 5am and 6pm on weekdays, for the period of the disqualification.

As every case is different, the cases reported here cannot be taken as an indication of a similar outcome being likely in your case, and these reports are not to be taken as legal advice about your particular situation.