An Aberdeen drink-driver was caught when he pulled into his driveway and found police at his home on an unrelated matter.
Lewis Smith, 43, parked his vehicle and officers could tell he was unsteady on his feet and smelling of alcohol.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told how the stepdad almost immediately came clean, telling police: “I have been an idiot and I have been drinking and caught drink-driving”.
He claimed he’d only driven a short distance in his red Ford to get away from his Aberdeen home after an argument with his stepchild on November 27 last year.
Reading was almost six times the legal limit
Fiscal depute Eabha Sweeney police had been called at 10.30pm regarding an unrelated incident and while inside saw Young parking in the driveway.
“Officers exited the house and observed him switch off the engine and exit the vehicle from the driver’s side,” she said.
“There was nobody else with him. He observed him to be unsteady on his feet and smelling strongly of alcohol from his breath and clothing.”
A breathalyser reading taken at Kittybrewster police station gave a positive result of 125mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, the legal limit being 22mcg – almost six times limit.
Smith admitted a charge of drink-driving.
Defence agent Neil McRobert said: “For what it’s worth it would appear that he drove only a short way.
‘This offence appears to have given him a shake’
“It was just a relatively short distance away from the house to get away from the home following a disagreement with a stepchild.
“He was drinking to excess at the weekends at this time. This offence appears to have given him a shake as to how he was acting at weekends.
“He has stopped drinking since the end of last year.”
Sheriff Margaret Hodge told Smith said he could’ve killed someone or himself.
She said: “You made a choice on that day which in light of the amount of alcohol you had consumed was extremely foolish and could have resulted in death or injury to you or someone else despite it being over a short distance.”
She fined Smith, of Stewart Crescent, Aberdeen, £640 and placed him on a six-month supervision order.
She also banned him from driving for 12 months and deemed him suitable to reduce that ban length by 25% should he complete a drink-driver rehabilitation scheme.
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