A 49-year-old woman found slumped over her steering wheel with a bottle of vodka has avoided jail for drink driving offences, despite being more than four times the legal limit. She confessed she had been abusing alcohol to deal with anxiety and depression from a previous relationship.
Stockport magistrates heard that officers saw her vehicle parked on a pedestrian island.
Prosecutor Neil White said: “The defendant was parked in front of the pedestrian island as if she intended to park there thinking it was a car park. The defendant was slumped over the wheel with the keys in the ignition.
“The officer spoke to the defendant who was clearly drunk and an empty 750ml bottle of vodka was found in her car. The officer tried to remove the keys but couldn’t and he then placed the defendant in the police vehicle.
“The defendant was extremely unsteady on her feet and was stumbling around. A reading of 147 micrograms of alcohol in her breath was taken.
“She said she had had a panic attack and had pulled up, saying she was scared to drive any further. She didn’t say she had drunk some alcohol after stopping when she was interviewed. But she admitted driving to that point.
“The prosecution say it is difficult to say how much she drank while on the road and how much she drank after stopping. Her selection of parking place suggests it was a fair amount.”
The woman had a previous conviction for drink driving from 2009. She claimed she had been drinking after a relationship had “ended badly” and was on medication.
Mitigating this latest incident, John Dye told the court his client had been suicidal and claimed an export report showed her alcohol reading to have been considerably lower at 101mcg.
“This was a cry for help,” he added. “She has a history of domestic violence and has not resolved this issue.
“The previous conviction was from a time when she was coming out of the relationship that she was abused in but she has not been in trouble for anything else apart from that.
“She maintains she consumed some of the alcohol after she stopped driving. She was waiting for her current partner to pick her up.
“She has had mental health difficulties and was using alcohol to deal with these problems. She has a reference from Cheshire East Council which says “it was [her] decision to ask for help” and this voluntary acceptance speaks volumes.
“She has always been a productive member of society. She is a volunteer for the NHS and is very good at dealing with other people problems but not very good at dealing with her own. She has applied as a volunteer to give out vaccinations.
“She has previously worked as a veterinary nurse and then worked for BA for twenty years. She is a productive member of society. She is now making progress.”
After pleading guilty to drink driving, magistrates banned her from driving for three years and bound her under a 12-month community order to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. She must also pay £180 in costs and charges.
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.
Getting in contact with Carl and Millars Solicitors is really easy. You can call him FREE on 0800 999 5535, or click here to send a confidential message.
