An offshore worker got behind the wheel of his car while more than four times the drink-drive limit – to make the 350-yard journey to his house.
And the “stupid” decision cost Kyle Stewart a £3,000 fine and a three-year ban when he appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday.
The 22-year-old welder, who has a previous conviction for driving with excess alcohol, had been on a night out with friends at Kiss nightclub in Buckie.
The court heard he had driven to the premises in the town’s Cluny Square and planned to leave his car and walk the few minutes home to the flat he shares with his dad.
However, after a few drinks, he changed his mind and tried to drive home in his Volkswagen Golf.
Stewart, of Oldmill Court in Garden Lane, Buckie, admitted getting behind the wheel while more than four times the drink-drive limit in the early hours of April 6.
Fiscal Alison Wylie said he was caught when police did a routine check and when he was breathalysed he had 101 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
The new legal limit, which came into force in December, is 22mcg
His agent, solicitor Matthew O’Neill, said: “Mr Stewart accepts it was an extremely poor decision to drive the vehicle that night.”
Stewart used alcohol to fill his free time when he was home from working offshore.
Sheriff James Hendry told Stewart: “You have a previous conviction for drink-driving.
“That should have taught you a lesson in 2010. Your decision to drive was particularly stupid. You were well over the limit.”
Stewart was fined £3,000 and disqualified from driving for 36 months, which could be reduced to 30 months if he completes a drink-driving rehabilitation course.
