NO. We have mandatory sentencing in Victoria for drink driving and drug driving offences. Mandatory means compulsory. There are no exceptions for anyone. There is an Act of Parliament called the Road Safety Act which all Magistrates must obey. That Act makes it compulsory for the Magistrate to cancel your licence and disqualify you from driving in Victoria for the minimum period stated in the Act. There are no exceptions for anyone. The minimum period is determined by your reading. If you are .11% it is 11 months, .12% it is 12 months, .13% it is 13 months and so on. If you have a prior offence within 10 years then the minimum period is doubled. So if you are .11% it is 22 months, .12% it is 24 months, .13% it is 26 months and so on.
Drug drivers face a mandatory 3 month disqualification for a first offence and six months for a second offence. There are no exceptions and no compassionate grounds.
The only drivers able to avoid mandatory licence disqualification are first offenders under .070% and subsequent offenders under .05%. Call me if this applies to you and I can help you avoid licence disqualification.
You may face hardship but that will not reduce the minimum period. You may lose your job. Again that is not going to reduce the minimum disqualification. You may have a sick or dying family member or loved one. Again that will not reduce the minimum period. It is a very strict law that has harsh and difficult consequences for many persons and I know many persons believe the law should have more flexibility to take into account your personal circumstances. But it doesn’t. The best you can achieve is to keep your disqualification to the minimum period. This is where I can help you. You might wish to offer to pay a higher fine and then receive a lower disqualification but that is not possible in Victoria. Also you might wish to offer to have the interlock device on your car for longer if your licence is not disqualified but again that is not possible in Victoria. There is literally no way to avoid the mandatory compulsory licence disqualification for the minimum period unless you defend and beat the charge in court. To beat the charge oin court you will need an expert lawyer like me to represent you.
Call me on 0412 407 577 for expert advice.