Banned driver caught behind the wheel while over twice the limit has been jailed

Feb 24 2011 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

A DISQUALIFIED driver who was caught behind the wheel while twice over the drink drive limit has been jailed.

Miazga Slawomir told officers he had drank so much the night before as he celebrated his 31st birthday that he was still twice over the limit when they stopped him at 4pm the following day.

Livingston Sheriff Court heard that police spotted a van driven by Slawomir take a roundabout at speed before travelling down Marjoribanks Street in Bathgate on January 19.

“After a check on their national computer database they signalled for the vehicle to stop,” fiscal depute Claire Martin said. “The police went to speak to the driver who was the accused and he had four friends inside the car at the time.

“Whilst the accused was sitting in the back of the police car they noted a strong smell of alcohol from him.”

He was arrested and taken to Livingston Police Station.

The 31-year-old provided a positive breath test with a reading of 77 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath — over two times the legal limit.

Slawomir, whose address was given as Bryson Place, Bathgate, pled guilty to drink driving and driving while disqualified.

The 31-year-old also admitted committing a breach of the peace on August 8 at his home.

The court heard Slawomir had shouted and swore at his partner and threw a mobile phone on the floor after she told him off for picking up their eight-month-old son while he was drunk.

Slawomir’s solicitor, Glenn Fraser, told the court his client appreciated there had to be an escalation in punishment as he had previous convictions for drink driving.

Mr Fraser added: “He has been made aware of how serious his position is.

“I think there is a need for his alcohol problem to be addressed and if it is done so it may bring his offending to a sharp end more so than a custodial sentence.

“It was his birthday the day before and he seems to have drunk an immense amount the night before and into the morning which was why his reading was 77mg even though he was stopped at 4pm.

“The reason he was driving the vehicle was it was to have work done to it as it was booked in for a MOT the day after. It was not a good reason for driving.”

But Sheriff Grahame Fleming was not impressed saying:

“He was also disqualified at the time. It was not just a question of him driving while he was drunk, he should not have been driving at all.”

Jailing Slawomir for 100 days and banning him from the roads for five years Sheriff Fleming added:

“In respect of the road traffic matter I consider that no other sentence other than imprisonment is appropriate having regard to your record and the nature of the offences.

“This is your third drink drive conviction committed while you were on bail and on deferred sentence and you were more than twice the limit.”