A driver who was more than five times the legal limit when she committed her second such offence has been banned for three years.
Paula Sutherland, 46, who fell out of the driver’s seat after police opened the door of her Honda Jazz, will also be under supervision for 18 months. She pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol and admitted a record at Wick Sheriff Court.
Police, acting on a tip-off about a car “swerving all over the road” near the war memorial at Berriedale, on December 18, found the vehicle parked on a verge with the key in the ignition and the engine revving harshly. A bottle of vodka was recovered from the passenger’s seat.
Fiscal Fraser Matheson said that Sutherland attempted to exit the vehicle and in doing so, fell out onto the road. She had to be assisted to the police car by the officers.”
A roadside breath test proved positive and the follow-up test at the police station revealed a breath-alcohol level of 119 mgs – the limit is 22mgs. It was Sutherland’s second such conviction within a 10-year period.
Sutherland, of Towerhill Crescent, Cradlehall, Inverness, will require to sit and pass the extended driving test when her disqualification ends.
Sheriff Andrew Berry, who was told that Sutherland appreciated the potentially serious consequences her conduct could have had for other road users as well as herself, urged her to take full advantage of the supervision one aim of which is to address her drink problem.
