FIL caught drink driving

I would be livid if your DH wanted to throw away money to help him try to avoid a well deserved ban.

He knew exactly what he was doing and does it regularly. Pretty despicable, frankly. And he'll continue to do it if he gets away with it.

People saying "oh you are as bad as you didnt report him!" well its not quite that simple.

Firstly the Op has explained that she has spoken to the police and they cant do anything without info on when and where he is doing it, which she doesnt have as they dont live nearby.

Secondly even with that information, its hit and miss whether anything happens. There was a guy at a pub I used to run who would get paralytic and drive home. Every single time I would report him saying he was over the limit, was at X location and would be driving to Y location and had drunk Z number of drinks over a 2 hours period. Oh and here is his full name and van reg. In 2.5 years of reporting him he was never once stopped. I kept doing it in the hope that if I reported it often enough it would flag up as an issue. But to my knowledge he still hasnt been caught.

He is innocent until proven guilty. MN is not a court!!
Everyone deserves legal representation if we are to call ourselves a civilised society. Everyone.
Having said that I hope he gets a long ban. Your DH needs to have a word with himself. Would he be feeling so conflicted if another person had been injured or worse? Good luck OP please stand your ground- I wouldn’t be giving a bloody inch on this one - this is social responsibility for public safety.

I can guarantee that he will view insurance as an optional extra in his driving life.

Points, insurance, speeding maybe.
You do not escape a drink driving ban, even if you are a troubled celebrity.
A local solicitor won't get you off.
Clarence fucking Darrow wouldn't get some old gimmer off.

My friends husband lost his first wife when she was killed by a drunk driver on Christmas Eve while she was crossing the road. He probably didn't think either when he got behind the wheel after leaving the pub.
Your FiL deserves a fine and a ban and having a good lawyer shouldn't make any difference.

To start with drink driving/drug driving is an automatic disqualification, no ifs, no buts. If any solicitor tells him otherwise then run a mile. Years ago you could talk your way out of disqualification, my dad certainly did, but that’s not the case these days and the magistrates have to impose a disqualification. How long that ban is depends on how much he blew over as the sentencing guidelines differ depending on that.

He absolutely needs legal advice, if he’s blown high he’s at risk of custody and he needs legal advice to prevent this rather than worrying about a ban. The ban is inevitable and the quicker he gets that into his head the better. However, he will be entitled to see duty on the day at court, if you don’t want to pay you don’t have to it’s not your issue.

He wouldn't get a penny off me and I would think very badly of my husband if he gave any.

I hope he loses his licence.

IIRC, if you get banned for drink-driving for more than 12 months, under certain circumstances you can opt to go on a rehabilitation course which can reduce your sentence by up to 25%.
The convicted driver pays for this him/herself.
I abhor drink-driving from the very depths of my being, but this is what the law says🤷🏻‍♀️

Given what his insurance will cost if he is convicted but avoids a ban, it would be cheaper for him to travel everywhere by taxi.

My friends a firefighter and said similar about pulling victims out of cars, he says that its so often more the drunks who survive and wipe out everyone in their path. Awful.

Where will your dh stop if he does support him here? Sounds like FIL is an alcoholic who'll get straight back to doing it again. Is dh prepared to keep doing this?

Your FIL needs banning at the least.

If he's banned, do you think he'll drive anyway? Sadly, with what you've said he sounds like the type....

RTFT.

The OP has already said she's talked to the police. Distance is the problem; FIL lives four hours away, and the police need to catch him in the act. Difficult to report if you don't live in the area.

In the first instance, he should review his home and car insurance policies which might include legal cover.

Even if you are guilty ?

Of course you shouldn’t help, drink driving is indefensible. However, shame on you if you have known about this for years and not reported him🥲!
it really pisses me off when people say they’ll report them if they do it with their children in the car…what about my children, and everyone else’s children?

Get him off the roads now. My BIL is a fire fighter and you should see the amount of RTA’s he attends. He’s had to pull dead toddlers out of cars due to drunk drivers.
your FIL is a see you next Tuesday.

In the first instance, he should review his home and car insurance policies which might include legal cover.
If not, honestly, I’d tell him where to stick it. You warned him, and it sounds like he lied misrepresented the truth when asked how many.
He’s not mad at himself for doing it, he’s mad he got caught.

Your money would go towards enabling him to drive drunk if you help him with a lawyer. You could be enabling him to maim or kill people. I'd rather set money on fire than give it to a shitty drunk driver who thinks he's above the law.

He brags about driving drunk. He's not about to stop and now he's on the police radar as a drunk driver.

Tell your husband giving his father money so he can continue to endager others on the road is not going to happen with joint funds.

Ban him from driving your kids anywhere.

Agree. I couldn't respect that.

He could have killed someone. Selfish bastard.

absolutely no money for the solicitor and I also would not be letting DC in the car with him driving whenever (if ever!) the ban is lifted.

Was that for speeding, no insurance or drink driving?

My friends DH talked his way out of a ban by saying his car was essential to his work (it wasn’t really and he should have been banned). He didn’t use a solicitor.

Waste of money.
DH's best friend is a solicitor, & he didn't even try to get himself off a DD !