A woman who had been drinking during the day with friends was still more than double the limit when she got behind the wheel at 1am the next day.
Danielle Downie was spotted by police officers just before 1am driving her silver Mini on icy roads with no headlights on.
They saw the 25-year-old accelerating harshly through Macduff in the freezing conditions of January 3 this year and called for other crews to trace her vehicle, Banff Sheriff Court was told.
When officers traced Downie and her car at her Berrymuir Road home she was so “emotional” she failed to give a breath sample on multiple occasions.
Roads were icy and lights weren’t on
Fiscal depute Ellen Barr said: “Road conditions were icy at the time and police on mobile patrol saw the accused’s car and noticed that the front headlights were not illuminated.
“They followed the vehicle and saw it accelerate harshly and due to the road conditions and inappropriate speed of the vehicle they were concerned.”
They were unable to pursue Downie but sent other officers, who traced her at home at 1.45am where she was found “under the influence and emotional”.
Downie failed on multiple occasions to give a breath sample at home, after repeatedly struggling to form a seal around the mouthpiece, but did so later in police custody.
Downie pled guilty to driving with 53mcg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, the legal limit being 22. She also admitted to failing to provide a breath sample. Not guilty pleas were accepted to dangerous driving and failing to identify herself charges.
‘She’d been out drinking with friends’
Her defence agent Leonard Burkinshaw said: “She had been out drinking with friends earlier in the day on January 2 and she had been home for some time. She had to go out later on to see a friend in the early hours.
“She thought that the alcohol she had taken earlier in the day would have come out of her system by then.
“When police attended she was very emotional and upset to learn this was not the case. Her failure to comply was due to her emotional state.”
He said she is “hopeful” her job in Turriff can be maintained despite the inevitable loss of her driving licence.
Sheriff Robert McDonald fined Downie, of Berrymuir Road, Macduff, £840 and banned her from the road for 12 months. She can reduce that ban by 25% if she completes a drink-driver rehabilitation scheme.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.
