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Drink Driving – Farmer spared jail term

May 31st, 2012 by Marcus

A farmer who was chased by police for three miles after driving his Land Rover and trailer while almost three times the legal drink driving limit has been spared a prison sentence.

Malcolm Symington, received a four year driving ban and was ordered to wear a tag seven nights a week for four months.  He was also ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and fined £400 for driving in a ‘reprehensible manner.’

The court heard how, police pursued Symington after he took to the wheel of the 4×4.  They chased him for three miles as he veered from side to side.  He failed to stop despite police using their sirens and lights in an attempt to pull over.

A roadside breath test revealed 99 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – over twice the limit.

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Estate agent jailed for drink driving after being caught for a second time

May 31st, 2012 by Marcus

An estate agent who was caught drink driving for a second time has been jailed for 16 weeks.

Esther Michelle Gannon pleaded guilty to drink driving and failing to stop after an accident at Sefton Magistrates’ Court.

Gannon, was arrested by police after concerned members of the public notified police about her erratic driving.

The court heard how Gannon, was seen crashing into two cars before swerving to avoid another passing vehicle.  At this point, a male in a white Transit van pulled up and took her to his vehicle.  A witness was so concerned she called the police and followed the pair before police arrived.

Police arrested Gannon and took her to a nearby police station for questioning.  A breathalyser reading shown Gannon was more than twice the legal drink drive limit with 82 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millitres of breath.

The white transit van driver, Stephen Brown, was also found to be over the drink drive limit after his reading came back with 61 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.  He received a 14 month driving ban and a £175 fine.

The court heard that Gannon, had two previous convictions for drink driving and driving while disqualified.

Gannon was sentenced to 16 weeks imprisonment and 16 weeks for failing to stop after an accident.  She was also disqualified from driving for five years.

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Cars should be fitted with alcohol sensors to stop drink driving says government adviser

May 31st, 2012 by Marcus

A former Government chief drugs adviser has suggested that there should be alcohol sensors in every car.

But the call by Professor David Nutt was described today as impractical by the AA.

Under the new proposal by Professor Nutt, all drivers would have to breathe into a device and be within the legal drink drive limit before their car would start.

The alcohol sensors plan is one of seven ways he suggests to reduce the harm caused by alcohol in his new book, Drugs – Without the hot air.

Other suggestions include shorter licensing hours, compelling pubs and supermarkets to sell non-alcoholic lagers and beers alongside alcoholic drinks.

Professor Nutt told the BBC that some countries use in-car breath testers, known as alcohol ignition interlock devices, to ensure that people who are already convicted of drink driving do not take to the wheel.

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Prison for drink-driver who downed six pints

May 31st, 2012 by Marcus

A lorry driver has been jailed for five months after driving after driving back to Staffordshire after drinking six pints at a birthday party in London.

Andrew Elsmore, was pulled over by police on the M6 after seeing sparks coming from his vehicle following an earlier crash.

Elsmore, was breathalysed at the scene which revealed 69 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath — almost twice the legal limit.

Elsmore told police he had earlier spun off the carriageway and continued driving despite hearing loud scraping noises.  The court later heard that the rear offside wheel was bent underneath the vehicle and there was extensive damage to the front.

Elesmore pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and driving.

Despite his previous clean licence and no convictions, Elesmore was sentenced to five months imprisonment.  He was also disqualified from driving for two years and until he passes an extended test.

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Drink driver is spared ban after court hears he was sleepwalking

May 30th, 2012 by Marcus

A motorist has spoken of his relief after escaping a driving ban for drink driving — because he was sleepwalking.

Police caught up with George Macdonald, after his worried spouse, Lillian, phoned to report that something was wrong with her husband.

The couple had enjoyed a few drinks at home after work before George went to bed at 11pm. At 3am, wearing only his underpants and nightshirt, he got into his vehicle and crashed into the garden fence, before driving to a cemetery car park.

He was twice the legal drink drive limit when he was breathaylsed but the court heard he had been sleepwalking.

Macdonald, pled guilty to drink driving but was let off with a £500 fine and nine penalty points.

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Police officer was four times the drink drive limit

May 30th, 2012 by Marcus

A police officer arrested after a crash is alleged to have been four times the drink drive limit.

A test found PC Tracy Watts, had 320mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.

Watts has resigned from the force and is due to appear in court on June 18.

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Drink driving – Mum caught drinking at playground almost three times the limit

May 30th, 2012 by Marcus

A woman drove four children from their school while almost three times the legal drink drive limit.

Helen Storr, took the children to a nearby playground and watched them run around as she sat in her vehicle drinking wine.

A court heard that, a member of the public alerted police after watching Storr drink wine from the bottle in the drivers seat.

Police arrived at the scene and noticed Storr was clearly ‘unsteady’ on her feet.  She was breathalysed at the scene and gave a reading of 96 micrograms.

The court heard that Storr turned to drink during a stressful period but had a ‘dawning realisation’ of what she was doing when police arrived.

Storr pleaded guilty to being drunk in charge of a minor and driving with excess alcohol.  She was given a two year driving ban and a community sentence.

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Survey reveals drivers’ road rage

May 29th, 2012 by Marcus

A recent survey has shown that road rage can cause drivers to be distracted.

The study by Motors.co.uk asked 2,300 motorists, which revealed that over half said that they had been a direct victim of another drivers short temper; potentially resulting in a car insurance claim which could be avoided.

One quarter of drivers admitted to reacting to this annoyance, with some manoeuvring their vehicle to take revenge, while over 40% said they had used profanities to express their anger towards others.

Scotland and Wales were found to have the most stressed drivers, with 6% admitting to punching their car interiors, 2% bursting into tears and 1% leaving their vehicles to fight with another drivers.

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Summer drink drive campaign backed by Gwent Police

May 29th, 2012 by Marcus

All four of Wales’ Police forces have back a national summer drink drive campaign.

Gwent Police along with Dyfed Powys Police, South Wales Police and North Wales Police will back the campaign, which will commence on June 1 and run for the whole of the month.

This years campaign, led by Dyfed Powys police, will be increasing pressure on the number of motorists behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol.

As summer approaches, traditional past times such as barbecues and parties often increase in occasions were people are consuming alcohol.  The majority of people make alternative travel arrangements but there are also a number of motorists who defy the law and drive with excess alcohol.

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Number of motorists using mobile phones still increasing

May 24th, 2012 by Marcus

The number of young drivers checking their social networking profiles on mobile phone while behind the wheel has increased.

According the new figures released by the RAC, there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of people aged between 25 and 44 using their mobiles behind the wheel.

A survey of almost a thousand drivers, found that 40% of motorists said they wanted to see a ban for illegal mobile phone use.

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