A “foolhardy” teenager who was more than twice the legal alcohol limit was reported to the police by his friends after he ignored their pleas not to drink-drive.
Lewis Douglas drank three bottles of beer while he was parked with friends in the Spey Bay car park, near Fochabers.
The 19-year-old ignored warnings from his concerned companions not to get behind the wheel of his blue Alfa Romeo, just after 8pm on October 28 this year.
He then made an illegal 14-mile journey to the Tesco Extra in Elgin, where police caught up with the offender.
His defence solicitor described the road trip as “ridiculous” and told Elgin Sheriff Court that the full-time kitchen designer had been “acting with a degree of bravado”.
Fiscal depute Naomi Duffy-Welsh told the court: “Witnesses met with the accused at the car park in their respective cars”.
“Two witnesses were standing with him and it was noted that he retreated to his car and took out a bottle of beer and finished it.
“He was then observed to drink a second beer and then finish a third. The first two were 500ml and the third was a larger bottle.
“Witnesses decided to drive to Tesco and they told the accused not to drive as he had been drinking. However, he drove on the B9014 towards Fochabers and west on the A96 to Elgin.”
At some point during the nearly 20-minute journey, Douglas’ concerned companions intervened and reported his “ridiculous and foolhardy” journey.
‘Under the influence’
“One of the witnesses that had been with him called police to report him for driving whilst under the influence,” the fiscal added.
“Police attended and found the vehicle stationary with lights on and the engine running in the Tesco car park in Elgin.
“They approached with blue lights and found the accused as the driver with no passengers within.”
A breath test at the police station in Elgin gave a reading of 54 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 22mg.
Douglas admitted to a drink-driving charge.
His defence agent Stephen Carty said the full-time kitchen designer was acting with a “small degree of bravado”.
“He accepts that his behaviour fell well below what he would expect of himself,” he said.
“There was some small degree of bravado. He was among his friends and decided to drive the vehicle while under the influence.
“He accepts it was a ridiculous and foolhardy thing to do. He knows the impact this could have had on other people.
“The gravity of the situation is not lost on Mr Douglas.”
Sheriff Erick Brown was shown a positive letter from Douglas’ employers that reserved giving any assurances over the safety of his job until his disqualification period was decided.
“We have a young man who has simply made a very bad decision,” his solicitor added.
“He appears to have learnt a very significant lesson from his dealings with the police and from having to appear in court today.”
‘It was a serious mistake’
The sheriff told Douglas, of Woodside Place in Fochabers, that he had made “a mistake”.
He added: “I wouldn’t describe it as a silly mistake. It was a serious mistake. It’s fortunate there were no more serious consequences”.
Douglas was fined £420 and handed a 12-month road ban.
He was also considered suitable for a drink-driver rehabilitation scheme, meaning he can reduce the disqualification period by 25% after completing the course.
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