A north-east teenager has been banned from the roads after he tried to drive home from a night out in Aberdeen while more than three times the legal limit.
David Dalziel took his car through to the city from Peterhead to enjoy a night out on the town.
But, after a few too many drinks, the 19-year-old lost touch with the friends he was supposed to be staying with and decided to drive home.
Due to his alcohol level, witnesses spotted his car being driven erratically on Market Street on April 8 and phoned the police.
When they eventually caught up with him on Ellon Road, they discovered he had been driving with 74 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
The legal limit is 22mcg.
Yesterday Dalziel, of 1 Clerkhill Road, Peterhead, appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted getting behind the wheel while over the limit.
Solicitor Shane Campbell said his client had intended to stay at a friend’s flat in Aberdeen with no intention of driving back to Peterhead.
However, he said at around 2.30am Dalziel and one other friend lost touch with the rest of their group.
He added that Dalziel’s phone battery had also died and he was unable to get in touch.
Mr Campbell said that if his client had been on his own, he would have just slept in his car. However he claimed Dalziel’s friend had encouraged him to get behind the wheel and drive home.
He said: “He had driven through to Aberdeen with the intention of spending the night in Aberdeen with friends who lived in the city. They were going to spend the night at his friend’s house.
“They parked the car in the city centre and they met up with the gentleman with whom they were going to be staying.
“During the course of the night they became separated and did not know where in Aberdeen his friend lived.
“At that point he had been drinking throughout the night and his judgement was affected by the amount of alcohol he had [taken].
Sheriff William Taylor disqualified the mechanical technician for one year and fined him £500.
If he completes the drink drivers’ rehabilitation course, he will be entitled to a three month reduction.
