A young motorist is facing losing his job at a car dealership after he was caught drink-driving.
Mark Jordan was more than three times the legal limit when he was pulled over by police in his grey Vauxhall at 1.50am on December 10 last year.
The 19-year-old, who only got his licence 18 months before, was found by officers to have bloodshot eyes and smelling of alcohol.
He’s now facing uncertainty over his job at a car dealership in Inverness.
‘His eyes were bloodshot’
Fiscal depute Sharon Ralph told Elgin Sheriff Court: “Officers were on mobile patrol on Grantown Road when they noted the vehicle being driven in front of them. They decided to carry out a routine check.
“On speaking with the driver they noted that his eyes were bloodshot and he was smelling of alcohol.”
Jordan was taken to Elgin Police Station where he gave a reading of 78 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 litres of blood, the legal limit being 22mcg.
He admitted drink-driving.
Defence agent Graham Mann said there was “nothing extraordinary” about his driving but that the breath test reading was three-and-a-half times the legal limit and “not insignificant”.
Job now in jeopardy
“He accepts entirely that this was a terrible error of judgement,” the solicitor said. “He had been drinking earlier. He had had a sleep and was under the wrongful impression that he had slept it off.”
Mr Mann added that Jordan’s job involved him moving vehicles around so with the inevitable loss of his licence that employment was in now jeopardy.
“It is unclear whether he will lose his job as a result of this,” he added.
Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov handed Jordan, of Batchen Street, Forres, a 15-month roads ban and a £640 fine.
She deemed him suitable for the drink-driver rehabilitation scheme meaning he can reduce that road ban by 25% if completed.
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