Drink Driving Solicitors in Reading

Being charged with drink driving and facing a court appearance at Reading Magistrates’ Court can be an overwhelming experience. The prospect of losing your licence, the uncertainty about what happens in court, and the impact on your employment and family are concerns many people understandably have.

At Reeds Solicitors, our Reading team provides specialist advice to clients facing exactly this situation every day, and we know that what you need right now is clarity and a solicitor who understands both the law and the local court. If you have a court listing, we are normally able to obtain the court papers immediately and can advise you on the strength of the evidence and best way forward, avoiding rushed decisions on the day.

Our Reading office at 9 Greyfriars Road is a short walk from Reading Magistrates’ Court, which means we are on hand before, during and after your hearing.

If you have received a summons or been charged with a drink driving offence in Berkshire, call us on 0118 902 7130 to speak with a solicitor, complete our online contact form or email us at [email protected].

Why Choose Reeds Solicitors in Berkshire?

Led by Partner Tom Brymer, every member of our Reading team has dealt with many drink driving cases and understands how Reading Magistrates’ Court treats and weighs different mitigating and aggravating features in practice. We have direct familiarity with the Crown Prosecution Service lawyers who present these cases and with how the local bench approaches sentence. This includes how alcohol readings, personal circumstances and aggravating features can affect the length of a driving ban or whether a community order is likely to be imposed.

Our Reading branch is backed by our national team of drink driving defence experts, ensuring you receive high-level representation.

If any forensic or scientific analysis is required, we have the contacts to commission the work quickly and effectively. This includes challenging the reliability of an Intoximeter reading or examining the evidential chain for a blood sample.

Drink Driving Offences We Defend

Driving with Excess Alcohol (DR10)

This is the most common drink driving charge and covers driving or attempting to drive with alcohol above the legal limit – 35 micrograms per 100 ml of breath, 80 milligrams per 100 ml of blood, or 107 milligrams per 100 ml of urine. A conviction carries a mandatory driving ban of at least 12 months.

There are two potential routes to avoiding disqualification altogether:

1. Contesting the charge – Pleading not guilty on the basis that the prosecution cannot prove who was driving, alcohol was consumed only after driving, or there were procedural failures significant enough to undermine the prosecution case.
2. Special reasons – These are exceptional circumstances directly connected to the incident which allow the Magistrates to exercise discretion not to impose a ban despite a guilty plea or conviction. Common examples can include driving only a very short distance, a genuine emergency, or spiked drinks.

Failing to Provide a Specimen (Breath, Blood, or Urine)

Failing to provide a specimen for analysis at the police station carries the same mandatory disqualification as excess alcohol.

It is a defence to demonstrate a reasonable excuse for failing to provide the sample. Examples include medical conditions, genuine panic or confusion, and procedural failures by officers.

Drunk in Charge of a Vehicle

You can be prosecuted for being ‘drunk in charge’ of a vehicle, after simply sitting in the car to keep warm, collect belongings, or get some rest. It is a defence to show on balance that there was no likelihood of driving whilst over the alcohol limit. This is often worth carefully exploring.

Facing a Drink Driving Charge at Reading Magistrates’ Court?

Most clients we speak to have never set foot in a Magistrates’ court before. Knowing what to expect on the day, where to go, how to get there, what happens when you arrive makes a measurable difference to how you feel walking through the door.

Court Address & Contact Information

Reading Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | Castle Street, Reading, RG1 7TQ

The court sits within the Civic Centre complex on Castle Street, at the western end of the road, alongside the police station. HMCTS confirms that the building is open to the public Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 17:00, with most criminal lists starting at 10:00. There are no routine weekend sittings; if your hearing is on a weekend it will be stated explicitly on your summons.

Arriving at Court: Parking & Transport

By car:  The closest dedicated public car park for court users is Reading Civic B at 12 Castle Street, RG1 2LQ, a council-operated facility running 24 hours a day, directly alongside the Civic Centre complex. It has approximately 170 spaces, accepts cards, coins and RingGo (location code 9476), and has a 1.85 m height restriction. For a 10:00 hearing, the most practical option is the early bird rate of £5.00, available if you enter between 06:00 and 09:00 on weekdays.

On foot from Reading Station:  Reading railway station is approximately 0.2 miles from our office at 9 Greyfriars Road, a comfortable two to five-minute walk. From the station’s main entrance, head down Station Road towards Friar Street, then turn left; Greyfriars Road is almost immediately on your right. From there, continue south along Greyfriars Road to Friar Street, turn right through the town centre shopping area, and follow St Mary’s Butts to Castle Street. The full walk from the station to the court takes around 10 minutes at a normal pace.

Via Reeds’ office:  If you wish to meet your solicitor at our office first, which we recommend where possible, simply follow the station-to-Greyfriars route above. We can then walk to court together, which takes well under 10 minutes from our door.

What to Expect on Your Court Date

Everyone entering a magistrates’ court must pass through airport-style security, and Reading Magistrates’ Court is no exception. Queues are longest between 09:00 and 10:00, which is why we advise clients to arrive by 09:15 to 09:30 for a standard 10:00 list.

On arrival, you enter through the main public entrance on Castle Street. Court Security Officers are stationed just inside, where you will be asked to empty your pockets into a tray, put your bags through an X-ray, and walk through a metal detector. You may also be asked to remove belts, outer clothing or footwear. Certain items including penknives, scissors and tools are prohibited and will not be returned.

Once through security, proceed to the reception desk. Your Reeds solicitor will meet you in the waiting area outside the courtrooms. We will go through the hearing format with you, confirm the charges you are facing, and advise you on what to say, and what not to say, before you are called in. Drink driving cases at Reading are listed in the ordinary adult criminal lists alongside other matters, typically starting at 10:00. We will confirm your exact courtroom once the daily list is published.

Local Policing in Berkshire and Your Defence

Thames Valley Police run intensive, intelligence-led drink and drug-driving operations throughout Berkshire. In December 2025, under Operation Limit, there were 469 arrests in Thames Valley, 209 for drink-driving and 260 for drug-driving.

Due to repeated serious road traffic accidents on the A33, Oxford Road, and the main town-centre junctions around the Oracle roundabout, these areas are heavily targeted by police patrols and operations. Enforcement activity also intensifies around Reading FC matchdays and over the festive period.

The scale of that enforcement matters to your defence. High-volume operations mean that officers are under pressure, equipment is used intensively, and the risk of procedural errors increases. We look carefully at whether the breathalyser device used in your case was within its calibration schedule, whether the standardised field sobriety procedure was followed correctly, and whether the two-sample protocol at the police station was conducted lawfully. These are established grounds on which prosecutions are discontinued or convictions avoided, not technical quibbles.