Drink-Driving and Road Safety Lawyer in Madrid
A reading above 0.60 mg/l, a refusal to blow, driving without a licence: if you’re being investigated for a drink-driving offence or road safety offence, the case proceeds by fast-track trial and the driving ban is decided at the first hearing. The breathalyser test is not beyond dispute, and that’s where your defence begins. We answer the phone ourselves. 24-hour line: 681 256 507.
Expert criminal defense lawyer in drink-driving and road safety offences in Madrid, available 24 hours
A drink-driving case seems like a lost cause, but it almost never is: the technical test has protocols the police must follow, and these are rarely followed in full. We are criminal defense lawyers in Madrid, experts in drink-driving and road safety offences, and we work every case to get it dismissed, reduce the sentence, or keep the driving ban at the legal minimum. We handle it ourselves from start to finish, without passing you from one lawyer to another.
Road safety offences we defend in Madrid
These are the road safety offences we handle your defence for in Madrid. Almost all are resolved by fast-track trial, so deadlines are short and the defence begins the same day.
Positive test for alcohol or drugs
Driving with a reading above 0.60 mg/l in breath (art. 379.2 CP) or under the influence of drugs with proven impairment. The breathalyser and the impairment finding are both open to challenge.
Refusal to take the test
Refusing the test (art. 383 CP) is a separate offence, carrying a more severe penalty than drink-driving itself. It can be defended, and often successfully.
Driving without a licence
Driving without a licence (art. 384 CP): after losing all points, without ever having obtained one, or while subject to a current court-ordered ban.
Reckless driving
Reckless driving or driving with manifest disregard for life (arts. 380 and 381 CP), the most serious forms of road safety offences.
Expert lawyers in drink-driving offences and fast-track trials in Madrid
In a drink-driving case, almost everything is decided by the technical test and the plea agreement. Here’s what we do differently:
We challenge the breathalyser evidence
We challenge the breathalyser evidence: metrological verification, double measurement with the minimum required interval, and the offer of a confirmatory blood test. If any requirement is missing, it supports a finding of nullity.
Strategic plea agreement: driving ban at the minimum
We negotiate a strategic plea agreement with the Public Prosecutor’s Office (art. 801 LECrim): it reduces the sentence by a third and keeps the driving ban at the one-year minimum, instead of the four-year maximum.
One lawyer, from start to finish
Whoever answers your call is the same person who represents you at trial. We don’t pass you from one lawyer to another.
We prepare the fast-track trial within days
These cases proceed by fast-track trial, with deadlines measured in days: we prepare the police report, the evidence and the plea agreement from the first call, leaving no room for improvisation.
What to do if you're arrested or summoned for a drink-driving offence
Whether you have been arrested or summoned to a fast-track trial, this is what we do for you from the moment you call:
We take your call.
We identify where you are (checkpoint, accident, police station) and the status of the police report: whether the double measurement was carried out, whether you were offered a contrast test and what you have signed.
We review the police report and the breathalyser.
We review the police report and the breathalyser data (model, calibration, intervals) to identify grounds for nullity.
We assess whether to settle or go to trial.
We assess with you whether a strategic plea agreement is advisable or whether the case should be defended at trial, depending on the evidence.
We go to the on-duty court.
A lawyer from the firm assists you at the on-duty court, in Madrid or in the Henares Corridor.
We fight to keep your licence at the hearing.
We fight against the loss of your driving licence at the hearing, using mitigating factors and a negotiated charge.
We provide this assistance ourselves, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Madrid city, the Henares Corridor and throughout Spain.
When drink-driving is a crime and not just an administrative offence in Madrid
The line between an administrative penalty and a criminal offence is not just about the reading. Knowing where your case stands is the first thing we do:
- A reading above 0.60 mg/l in breath (1.2 g/l in blood): automatic offence under art. 379.2 CP.
- A reading between 0.25 and 0.60 mg/l: administrative offence, unless the police report proves an actual effect on driving. Without that evidence, there is no crime.
- Drugs: the drug test detects use, not impairment. The offence requires more than a positive result.
- Refusal to take the test (art. 383 CP): a separate offence, more serious than drink-driving itself.
Breathalyser and drug test: what the police must comply with, and what the defence disputes
Technical evidence is not beyond question, and that is where the defence begins:
- Metrological verification: the breathalyser’s model, serial number and verification date must appear in the police report. If any of these is missing, it supports a claim of nullity.
- Double measurement with a minimum ten-minute interval: anomalous differences between the two readings can be challenged.
- Blood test confirmation: if it was not offered, the police report has a gap.
- External symptoms: must be consistent with the result. A generic reference to the “smell of alcohol” is not enough to prove impairment.
Strategic plea agreement: how the driving ban is reduced to the legal minimum
When a plea agreement is the best option, it is negotiated to keep the sentence and driving ban at the minimum:
- A one-third reduction on the sentence requested by the Public Prosecutor (art. 801 LECrim), through a plea agreement before the on-duty court.
- A driving ban at the minimum of one year, instead of the maximum of four, through a negotiated charge.
- Suspension of the prison sentence (art. 80 CP) if it is two years or less and there are no prior convictions.
24-hour assistance for a fast-track drink-driving trial
Tel. 681 256 507 · [email protected]
Penalties and driving licence disqualification for drink-driving
What’s at stake depending on the classification:
- Drink-driving (art. 379.2 CP): imprisonment of three to six months (or a fine or community service) and disqualification from driving for one to four years.
- Refusal (art. 383 CP): imprisonment of six months to one year and disqualification for one to four years.
- Driving without a licence (art. 384 CP): imprisonment, a fine or community service, depending on the case.
The driving licence and criminal record often weigh more than the sentence itself: that’s why we fight for the lowest possible plea deal or an acquittal.
Refusal to take a breathalyser test and drink-driving after an accident
Refusal to take a breathalyser test (art. 383 CP) is only justified by a technical impossibility supported by a medical report (severe asthma, chest injury, documented anxiety), or when the officer failed to clearly and repeatedly inform of the criminal consequences. And when drink-driving is detected after an accident involving a victim, the situation becomes more complex: charges of reckless homicide or reckless injury may arise, or failure to stop at the scene (art. 382 bis CP). In such cases, the defence is not purely criminal: we coordinate accident reconstruction expert reports and independent toxicology assessments. If you have been arrested, we also activate 24-hour assistance for detainees.
Drink-driving defence: frequently asked questions
Is a positive result always a criminal offence?
Not always. Above 0.60 mg/l it is automatically a criminal offence. Between 0.25 and 0.60, it is only a criminal offence if the police report shows real impairment of driving (symptoms, erratic driving, accident). Without such evidence, it is an administrative infringement.
Can the breathalyser test be challenged?
Yes, and often successfully. We review the breathalyser’s calibration, the double measurement, and whether a blood test was offered as an alternative. A flaw in the protocol can lead to the evidence being ruled invalid or to an acquittal.
I refused to blow into the breathalyser, is that worse?
Refusal (art. 383 CP) is more serious than drink-driving itself: six months to one year in prison and up to four years’ disqualification from driving. It is only justified by technical impossibility supported by a medical report or the officer’s failure to inform.
How long will my licence be suspended?
With a strategic plea agreement (art. 801 LECrim), the sentence can be reduced to the minimum of one year, compared to the maximum of four. This difference is built through the negotiated classification and mitigating factors.
Does the administrative points deduction count towards the criminal sentence?
The criminal disqualification and the administrative points-based withdrawal are independent systems: the administrative one is not deducted from the criminal one. After a conviction, recovering the licence requires a course and a fitness test. We coordinate both fronts.
Our office at Goya 20, Madrid
Estudio Jurídico Cervantes & Gª-Escribano
Book an initial consultation or call us directly. We are available at Goya 20, by phone and by video call, with the confidentiality inherent to professional practice.
- Calle Goya 20, 1st Floor Left · 28001 Madrid
- 681 256 507 · 24 hours, every day
- [email protected]
- Monday to Friday · 9:00 am – 7:00 pm (24/7 assistance for detainees)
Call a drink-driving lawyer in Madrid
A drink-driving case is won or lost at the police report stage and at the first court appearance: the breathalyser reading that is contested, the confirmatory test that was not offered, and the plea agreement that gets negotiated. And since these cases go through fast-track trial, the deadlines are short. The sooner you call an expert drink-driving lawyer, the more room we have to protect your licence. We assist clients in Madrid and throughout Spain. Call us on 681 256 507.
