A man who drives cars for a living will lose his job after being caught at more than four times the legal alcohol limit.
Alan Mackenzie had fallen out with his wife when he decided to get into his blue Audi TT, despite having spent the day socialising and drinking alcohol.
At 1.10am on September 25 last year he was seen by another driver swerving his way through Elgin and narrowly avoiding collisions, the town’s sheriff court was told.
Fiscal depute Shamielah Ghafar said the 51-year-old narrowly avoided a potentially serious crash into the wall of the Esso filling station on East Road.
Driving was ‘all over the place’
“A witness was driving west along East Road when she was the vehicle driving in front of her,” she said.
“It was swerving across the carriageway, narrowly avoiding colliding with various pieces of roadside furniture, including the wall of the Esso filling station.
“She followed the car towards Elgin town centre and described the driving as ‘all over the place’.”
The woman called the police and when they arrived they found Mackenzie had pulled into the bus station forecourt but still had his lights on and the engine running.
The father-of-six and grandfather-of-four, who has an otherwise clean licence, immediately told officers: “I am drunk.”
He admitted a single drink-driving charge. His reading, given at Elgin Police Station at 2am, showed 94mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, the legal limit being 22mcg.
Mackenzie’s defence agent Kevin Anderson said his client, a driver with a local garage, pulled over himself upon realising how “foolish” he was being.
“There was a social event earlier in the day and later in the evening a disagreement followed between him and his wife,” the solicitor said.
“As a result of that rather than take a different course of action he, as he describes himself, took the foolish decision to jump into the car and drive approximately one mile.”
‘His employment will be lost’
He said he realised the error and had called his boss to pick him up, but by the time he arrived police were already there.
A reference letter from Mackenzie’s employer was placed before Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov.
“His employment will be lost to him and he appreciated that the court’s hands are tied,” Mr Anderson added.
“The greatest regret for him is he is a carer for his 83-year-old mum, she relies on him and he has failed his mother.”
Mackenzie, of Waulkmill Road, Elgin, was handed a 16-month road ban and fined £520. He can reduce his ban length by 25% if he completes a rehabilitation course.
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