He’s Been Arrested for Drink Driving — Is There Any Hope?

“He’s Been Arrested for Drink Driving — Is There Any Hope?” | Road Traffic Law Ireland

“He admitted it. He was drinking. He was driving. Surely that’s the end of it?”

That’s the kind of sentence I hear all the time — usually from a worried sister, girlfriend, or parent ringing on behalf of someone they love.

They’re not wrong to be scared.

But they’re wrong to think it’s over.

There are two big mistakes most people make when someone they care about is arrested for drink driving in Ireland.

"I get calls from other lawyers every week

asking how to defend drink driving cases.

It’s not because they’re lazy.

It’s because this area is technical, difficult, and unforgiving,

and they don’t practice it all day every day like I do"

Mistake #1: Thinking It’s Hopeless Because They Were Caught Drinking and Driving

Look — if you were arrested after crashing into a ditch and failing a breath test, it’s normal to assume you’re doomed.

The evidence seems overwhelming. You drank. You drove. You got caught.

Game over… right?

Not quite.

The law doesn’t work like that.

Being guilty in your own head is not the same as being proven guilty in court.

In fact, many cases that look hopeless at first glance fall apart under scrutiny — not because of ‘loopholes’ (these don’t exist), but because the State has legal duties it must fulfil before convicting anyone.

Mistake #2: Thinking All Solicitors Are the Same

They’re not.

Some will tell you to plead guilty on day one.

Some will take your money and do the bare minimum.

Some just don’t know what they’re doing.

And then there are a few of us who treat these cases as if our own licence were on the line.

The truth is, I get calls from other lawyers every week asking how to defend drink driving cases. It’s not because they’re lazy. It’s because this area is technical, difficult, and unforgiving, and they don’t practice it all day every day like I do.

There are layers to it — legislation, case law, Garda procedure, forensic standards.

You don’t learn this overnight.

You learn it from years of doing it. From cross-examining Gardaí.

From watching cases collapse for reasons no textbook ever taught.

For the record, I am always happy to take phone calls from lawyers seeking advice on their cases.

What You Need to Know

I’m not here to give you false hope.

Some cases are strong. Some aren’t.

But here’s the truth:

We don’t win these cases by denying that someone drank or drove.

After all, if your only defence hinged on trying to convince the judge you weren’t that drunk, or you weren’t driving as bad as the Garda said you were, what do you think would happen?

You’d be convicted because you have just handed the judge a really easy choice to make: do I believe the drunk guy or the sober Garda?

So we stay away from that nonsense.

We win by carefully analysing the evidence, and by identifying legal or procedural errors the judge is obliged to act on.

If the Gardaí followed every step correctly, then fair enough.

But if they didn’t — if they missed even one essential proof — that might be the opening we drive through.

There’s Help. You Just Need to Know Where to Look.

My website is the single largest collection of drink and drug driving defence material in Ireland.

• 230+ plain-English articles

• 100+ explainer videos

• Real case studies. Real examples. Real outcomes.

"If your only defence hinged on trying to convince

the judge you weren’t that drunk, or you weren’t

driving as bad as the Garda said you were,

what do you think would happen?

You’d be convicted because you have just handed

the judge a really easy choice to make:

do I believe the drunk guy or the sober Garda?"

I built this resource so that anyone facing court — or trying to help someone who is — can understand the system before it steamrolls them.

So if someone you care about has been arrested, start there.

Find the blog that sounds like your story.

It’s probably already happened before — and been won before.

Because when it comes to drink driving charges, you’re not just facing the facts.

You’re facing the law.

And the law has rules.

They (the State) have to get all the elements of the offence right all the time.

You just have to create one doubt in the judge's mind.

After all, it’s the choice between going off the road or driving home.

And everybody wants to drive home.