Prepare for your drink drive court hearing

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If you are convicted of drink driving offence, it is up to the court to decide what your sentence should be, including the length of any driving ban you might get.

Depending on the nature of your offence and other factors, such as the amount of alcohol in your body when tested by the police, driving bans usually last at least one year but can be much longer.

The good news is that if you or your solicitor tell the court that you plan to take an approved drink drive rehabilitation course you could reduce the potential length of your ban by up to a quarter.

You must do this at the hearing and tell the court which course you are going to take. You can’t make a decision to do a course once you have left the court.

The process is different in Northern Ireland as you will automatically be offered a TTC course. However, it is still up to you to contact us and make a booking.

Before you go to court, follow these three steps:

Think about the sentence you might get. Read our guide to sentencing to understand how courts decide what sentence to give drink-drivers and how long to disqualify them from driving.
Work out how much shorter your ban could be with a TTC drink drive course. Use our Driving Ban Reduction Calculator to see much sooner you could get your licence back.
Get ready to tell the court you want to take the TTC course. Check out how effective and non-judgemental our drink drive rehabilitation course is and see what one attendee thought in the video below:

A client talks about her TTC drink driving course

In this video, Louise* talks to our trainer Lynsey Brown about her experience of completing one of TTC’s drink drive rehabilitation courses.

Rather than being judged, Louise felt less isolated. She found herself supported and comfortable with others in the same position.

Like most people, she realised how little she understood about the units in her favourite drinks and how long they stay in her body.

Now, she is a convert to having ‘none for the road’.

*Louise (not her real name) is played by an actor but her words are her own.

What helped Louise the most

TTC Icons 59 Legal Police Legislation Conviction (alt)

25% off her ban & her licence back sooner

TTC Icons 32 Driver Behaviour Attitude (alt)

A much better understanding of alcohol risk

Personalised strategies to help her in future

Sharing experiences with others

Tips on licence restoration process

TTC Icons 61 Money Cost Saving Piggy (alt)

Improved chance of affordable car insurance

Explore our course

Why choose TTC?

We helped develop the course

TTC piloted the UK’s first ever Government-backed rehabilitation scheme for drink drivers back in 1993 and we continue to pioneer driver safety. We are now piloting a new drug driver course.

We run courses in your area

TTC is the only national provider of approved Drink Drive Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) courses. No matter where you are in the UK, we have got a course for you. You don’t have to guess.

We work evenings and weekends

Accessible TTC courses are available 7 days a week either in face-to-face classroom environments, or online so you can do them in the privacy of your own home. There’s bound to be a session that fits your life.

We know how it feels

Attendees really appreciate our supportive, non-judgemental, sharing sessions and many are sorry when the course ends. That’s why we offer everyone a free post-course anxiety course.

Free anxiety management course