An oil engineer has been banned from the roads after driving home “after a few beers” on a Christmas night out.
David Barker, 35, was pulled over by police officers at about 2am on December 20 after they noticed he didn’t have insurance.
But when he exited the silver Volkswagen, constables noticed he “was under the influence of alcohol and slurring his words”.
He was taken to Kittybrewster Police Station and gave a reading of 58 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The limit is just 22 microgrammes.
At Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday, Barker, of Milltimber Gardens Crescent, Aberdeen, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol.
Solicitor Neil McRobert said his client had enjoyed a Christmas night out with his colleagues.
“He is an oil engineer employed by a large company and was out for a Christmas meal,” he said.
“He had parked his car at his offices and had several beers with his meal but stopped drinking relatively early on in the evening before returning to his vehicle.
“He got in and did not feel under the influence at all.
“He was driving to Miltimber and encountered police coming in the other direction.
“He was two-and-a-half times the limit, but the limit itself is very low.”
Sheriff Donald Ferguson responded: “But that limit is the law.
“Your client has a similar offence from 2005. You might wonder why he is not hyper vigilant about this these days.”
Barker was fined £800 and banned from the road for two years.
