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View Full Version : Accused was more than three times the limit



Nwicker60
01-Nov-13, 17:21
Fine and ban but driver keeps his car

A SHERIFF rejected a request to confiscate the car belonging to a driver caught with more than three times the legal alcohol limit.
Instead, he fined Roy Hill £400 and banned him from driving for 16 months.
Hill, of 2 Achow Cottages, Lybster, was stopped by police in the village's Main Street, early yesterday and was breathalysed positive by police who observed his eyes were glazed, his speech slurred and he was unsteady on his feet. Further tests show a breath-alcohol level of 118mgs - the legal limit is 35mgs.
Making a motion for forfeiture of the accused's Volkswagen Passat, David Barclay prosecuting, said the Crown was entitled to ask for forfeiture of the vehicle under the three-times rule.
Hill admitted driving with excess alcohol at Wick Sheriff Court, yesterday. His solicitor, Fiona MacDonald, told the court that the accused had been out for the evening and wasn't used to drinking Guinness and didn't appreciate its strength.
Sheriff Andrew Berry took Hill's early plea into account and the fact that his only record was a speeding offence, but made the point that the breath-alcohol level was high.
Rejecting the motion for forfeiture of the accused's Volkswagen Passat, however, the sheriff said: "Such requests are not automatically granted and each case must be considered on its merits. Taking everything into account, I find it unnecessary to forfeit your car."
In a separate drinks-driving case, retired Watten village woman, Anne Hirst, was fined £320 and banned from driving for a year.
Hirst, a first offender, of Thor House, Watten, was stopped by police who received a tip-off, on her way home from Wick, on July 9. Tests revealed a blood-alcohol
reading of 100mgs. The legal limit is 80.