An Aberdeen head chef who was caught driving early in the morning while still over the limit from the night before has been banned from the road.
Damian Baranski came to the attention of the police when they saw him travelling along Golf Road.
When pulled over at around 6am on April 11 2021, officers found him smelling “strongly of alcohol”, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
A blood test was carried out and it detected 73mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, the limit being 50ml.
Fiscal depute Andrew McMann explained that when the head chef was pulled over he “smelled strongly of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes, and was looking confused and disorientated”.
Head chef ‘made a mistake’
Defence agent Chris Maitland said the 36-year-old had been drinking the night before and thought he would be okay to drive in the morning.
“He was giving a friend a lift home at the time – he felt like he was okay,” Mr Maitland said.
“He accepts he was over the limit at the time of driving – he accepts responsibility for that.
“He apologises that he did this and recognises that he made a mistake as far as this is concerned.”
Baranski pled guilty to a charge of drink-driving.
‘That is never really an excuse’
Sheriff Lesley Johnstone said she acknowledged the circumstances and that the results were “relatively low”.
“I have taken into account that the reading was relatively low and this happened the day after you’d been drinking,” she said. “However, that is never really an excuse.
“You need to take measures as a driver to make sure you are not under the influence of alcohol.”
Baranski of Kingsway in Bucksburn was fined £320 and banned from the roads for 12 months.
She has also ordered him to attend a drink-driver rehabilitation course.
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