Livingston woman banned from driving

Dec 29 2011 West Lothian Courier

A COUNTY woman has been banned from driving for two years after being found nearly three times over the drink-driving limit.

A court heard this week that Marion Kane (55) was driving on Houston Road at its junction with Grange Road in Livingston when her car was involved in a collision with another vehicle on Monday, December 12 at 4.25pm.

Police and emergency services were called to the scene of the accident.

Kane confirmed to police officers that she was driving and undertook roadside breath tests and tested positive for alcohol.

Kane, whose address was given as Pinebank in Livingston, tested positive for 110 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of breath.

The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

This week Livingston Sheriff Court heard that her car had sustained a lot of damage in the collision and the insurance company had said that the car would probably be a write-off.

Her solicitor Gerry Bann s told the sheriff court: “She had consumed alcohol the night before and also at lunch time on the date in question.

“She should have, but didn’t appreciate the cumulative effect of the drinking when going to see her son.

“She was going to her sons to do a good turn.

“Her son’s water supply had been disrupted the day before and she had canisters of water in the back of her car for him.

“However, this should have been left for another time.”

Mr Bann said his client had endured a difficult year and was probably suffering from depression and would be going back to see her GP.

He added: “Ms Kane has had a number of anxieties and concerns this year which have impacted on her health.

“Her mother died suddenly and she hasn’t coped well with that sadness.

“She accepts she had been drinking more than she should have been.

“Two of five of her children, who are grown up, also suffer from cystic fibrosis and it has all taken a toll on her own health.”

Banning her from driving for two years and imposing a £200 fine, Sheriff David Clapham told Kane he had a duty to protect members of the public in cases such as drink driving.

He said: “You (Kane) should appreciate that this happened at 4.25pm and you were almost three times over the legal limit.

“My line of work involves public protection and there is a public safety aspect in cases such as yours.”