A 44-year-old woman has been deemed a “significant risk to the public” after appearing before Sheriffs in Paisley on drink driving charges.
Police pulled her over in the town on June 15, 2020, on account of her poor driving, the court heard, however, sentencing was postponed to allow time for a pre-sentence report.
Sheriff Mark Thorley was particularly concerned by the woman’s alcohol reading which was measured at 130mcg alcohol per 100ml breath. The legal drink driving limit in Scotland is 22mcg.
Referring to it as “posing a significant risk to the public, Sheriff Thornley said: “The concern I have here is in terms of her being over the limit. It shows she presented a significant risk to the public at large being that far over the limit.”
He was also concerned that the report highlighted “post-incident drinking”, also known as the hip flask defence where motorists say they were drinking after the report of drink driving had been made to police.
Acting on the woman’s behalf, however, Michael McKeown stated that his client was not stating that as a cause for her offence and that she had taken responsibility for the defence.
He added in mitigation that the woman had “suffered a relapse into alcoholism” last year but had been working on her recovery with the help of her family.
“Her family have got involved and have spent more than £10,000 on her recovery and she is working on tackling her difficulties.
“She accepts full responsibility and she understands there will have to be a period of disqualification as a result of this conviction. She also offers to pay a fine.”
After hearing the guilty plea to drink driving and taking the reports into account, Sheriff Thorley banned the woman from driving for 25 months – reduced from 30 months, and ordered her to undertake 75 hours of unpaid work within one year.
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.
