A 43-year-old man from Chester has been banned from driving after a drink driving accident which resulted in him running over a “Give Way” sign.
Alan Currums, prosecuting, told Chester Magistrates Court that a member of the public reported a BMW that had knocked over the sign and was parked outside a house with the defendant still inside.
On their arrival, police saw there was damage to the car with the driver appearing to be asleep at the wheel, with a “strong smell” of intoxicants.
A roadside breath test found the man to have 76mcg alcohol per 100ml breath, however, a later evidential test gave a reading of 90mcg.
Defending, Michael Gray disputed the second test, stating that his client had consumed alcohol after driving. The court accepted the lower reading which was still twice the legal drink driving limit of 35mcg.
He added that no road users or pedestrians were injured and that his client had been “extremely fortunate”. The man has two previous convictions, one of which was for drink driving in 2015. He was banned for 18 months.
A pre-sentence report from the probation service said that while the man had completed the community order for drink driving following his previous conviction, they were concerned there was evidence of further “alcohol misuse” and “deficits in thinking skills”, adding that the man failed to consider his actions’ impact on others.
They said that the defendant was not dependent on alcohol, but would often drink to excess when socialising.
The offence was “greatly exacerbated” by hitting the roadsign, his continuing to drive after the collision, and his previous convictions, said Chair of magistrates Ian Williams.
After pleading guilty to drink driving, magistrates banned the man from driving for 42 months and prohibited him from taking the drink driving rehabilitation course due to his previous conviction. In addition to the ban, he was handed a 12-month community order to include 20 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement, as well as undertake 80 hours of unpaid work.
The man must also pay £100 in costs and a £95 victim surcharge.
About Carl Millar
Carl Millar is a highly respected and experienced drink driving solicitor who is the principal of Millars Solicitors.
Carl has been a specialist in road traffic law for many years and represents clients from all walks of life and all over the Country. He is well known for the dogged defending of his clients and robust cross examination of police officers and exert witnesses.
With a wealth of expertise in motoring law Carl is well placed to provide advice over the phone and deal with all road traffic matters in a calm and professional way.
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