News / Three drink drivers banned
A SHETLAND seaman who abandoned his smashed up car in the middle of a main road admitted drink driving and failing to report an accident at Lerwick Sherrif Court on Wednesday.
The court heard that police were called out to attend a crash in the early hours of 1 December on the main A970 road at Gulberwick and were worried when they could not find the driver.
More than an hour later they tracked 32 year old Darron Smith down at his home at Norhavn, Upper Hillside, Gulberwick.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said Smith was more than twice the legal limit for alcohol when he was breathalysed around two hours after the crash.
Defence agent Tommy Allan said his client had “stupidly” decided to drive home after a night out in Lerwick after running out of money for a taxi.
He was “shocked and stunned” after skidding on ice and turning his vehicle over, and when he could not raise anyone at the nearest house he crossed a couple of fields to reach home where he had a shower before the police turned up.
Sheriff Philip Mann banned Smith from driving for one year, which he can reduce by three months by completing an alcohol awareness course, and fined him a total of £900.
Meanwhile John Andrew Johnson, of Garth, Castle Street, Scalloway, escaped a prison sentence after being stopped for driving while five times the alcohol limit on the village’s Main Street on 22 August.
This was 37 year old Johnson’s second offence within weeks, but as he had not yet been convicted for the first incident when he was arrested this time it did not class as a repeat conviction.
Defending, Allan explained that Johnson had a serious alcohol problem that he intended to tackle, and had driven a short distance to the shop to buy some liquor to help him through a difficult period.
Now he was struggling as hard as he could to deal with his affliction with alcohol, Allan said.
Sheriff Mann took on board the effort Johnson was making and rather than sending him to prison, he banned him for 32 months and ordered him to carry out 170 hours unpaid work over the next nine months as part of a two year supervision order during which he will undergo alcohol counselling.
A third drink driver must wait until next month before being sentenced.
Norman Leask, aged 64, of Solbrekka, Tingwall, was stopped on the main A970 near his home on 23 November driving while almost twice the alcohol limit.
The court heard this was Leask’s third drink driving offence. He was disqualified while social work reports are compiled.
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