A north-east carer who drove her car while more than double the legal drink-drive limit has been banned from the road, and now expects to lose her job.
Amy Stuart, who works as a carer for Aberdeenshire Council, drove while over the limit after leaving her boyfriend’s house in Fraserburgh after a drunken argument.
The court heard her job was at risk as a driving licence was vital for it.
Fiscal depute Darren Harty told Peterhead Sheriff Court an anonymous call to police tipped off officers that the 26-year-old was driving under the influence in the early hours of May 24.
They pulled her over on the town’s Gallowhill Terrace where her breathalyser test read 50 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit being 22.
Assumed the booze had left her system
Stuart’s defence agent Stuart Flowerdew said her decision to drive was down to a lack of awareness.
“She had been staying with her boyfriend and they had been drinking earlier in the evening,” he said. “There was an argument and she was concerned and took the decision she would drive to a friend’s house to get away from the situation.
“She was aware she had been drinking but was sure it would have left her system by then.”
Job now at risk following conviction
He suggested “a little education” through her taking part in a drink driver rehabilitation scheme would be helpful. He also stressed that the licence was vital for her work as a carer with the local authority.
Sheriff David Mackie agreed “it was a pity” she found herself in the dock given her “unblemished record”.
“However, there is no getting away from an inevitable disqualification,” he added.
Stuart, of King Street, Rosehearty, was disqualified for one year, fined £450 and must take part in the drink-driver rehabilitation scheme.
