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18 August 2009“One of my most unusual cases involved Ronnie O’Sullivan, who failed to provide a sample when he was pulled over.
“He drank loads of water but he was on medication at the time and the more pressure they put on him the harder it was for him to provide a sample – this led to an acquittal.”
Nick Freeman – the man responsible for defending a legion of celebrities against driving convictions – is currently hitting the headlines for representing Spurs footballer Jermaine Defoe.
And his celebrity client list is endless – he successfully defended Jeremy Clarkson after the Top Gear presenter was issued with a speeding ticket sent through by Alfa Romeo, saved former footballer Dwight Yorke from the law on three occasions and kept cricketer Andrew Flintoff from a driving ban in 2008.
And his first high profile case came in 1999 when he successfully saved Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson from punishment for driving on the hard shoulder of a motorway.
Ferguson’s excuse was that he was rushing to get to the toilet following a particularly bad case of diarrhoea.
Want to know who Nick Freeman has successfully defended? Click below to view our image gallery:
“Every case is different”, Nick explains. Every case, including his own, as he admits…
“In 1998 I got pulled over by a policeman who had been involved in a case I had worked on. He sat outside my house waiting for me and presented me with a speeding ticket.
“I noted down everything he said and then reported it. They offered me a fixed penalty and three points but I had a decision to make.
“It went to court and I took the stand as a witness and I was found not guilty.
“I wouldn’t defend myself if I got caught speeding – you can’t possibly defend yourself objectively.”
But despite this minor transgression, Nick (pictured) has a clear love of fast cars, and covers more than 50,000 miles a year – with a completely clean licence.
“I love cars and always have”, he explains. “My first car was a little red Triumph Herald convertible. I paid £520.”
He speaks of this first car with a real fondness – but his voice saddens as he describes how it was stolen just 18 months after he bought it.
Since then the cars in his garage have gotten even more glamorous.
“I’d say the best car I’ve ever had is an Aston Martin DB7 Volante, while the worst cars were two TVRs.
“The noise and looks were fantastic, but they were both so unreliable – I threatened to drive them through the showroom window.”
A definite petrolhead, Nick relates today’s current motoring regulations in a way nobody else can.
“The national speed limit was set in the 1960s and was based around the top speed of a Ford Anglia – I think the speed limits should vary according to traffic.
In fact, he’d completely rewrite the current rules on a whole host of topics – speeding, motorway driving, learners, and drink driving to name but a few.
“In densely populated areas I’d bring the limit down to 20mph,” says Nick. “30mph is too fast around schools.”
But he thinks that speed limit laws should be about give and take.
“When the motorways are empty it should be as it is in Europe – 130km/h (80mph).”
Despite defending them in the courts, drink drivers are another thing Nick would clamp down on heavily if he was in charge of lawmaking.
“The legal limit is 35mg, but they prosecute at 40mg – that’s 80ml of alcohol in the bloodstream.
“At that level you are four times more likely to have an accident. How can we say that four times more is ok?
“The level is 50ml in Europe – 37% less. Why can’t we go to that?
“I’m not advocating zero tolerance though; I think that opens up more problems.”
As well as changing the drink driving laws, Nick would also like to see the driving test made more thorough.
“I’d show learners videos of what happens in accidents – use shock tactics. Why wait until people need to be rehabilitated?”
He bailed out Jeremy Clarkson - but could he out beat-box the big man? We're not so sure after seeing this...