Very under the influence

When a doctor crashed his car in the UK recently police were quickly at the scene of the incident and breathalysed the driver. He was found to have a blood alcohol count three times that of the permitted level. He explained that immediately after the crash he crawled from his wrecked BMW, opened a bottle of vodka he had with him and drank from this in a bid to steady his nerves. However this explanation was not believed in court as the man had been drinking the night before and was thought to still have
December 18, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

When a doctor crashed his car in the UK recently police were quickly at the scene of the incident and breathalysed the driver. He was found to have a blood alcohol count three times that of the permitted level. He explained that immediately after the crash he crawled from his wrecked BMW, opened a bottle of vodka he had with him and drank from this in a bid to steady his nerves. However this explanation was not believed in court as the man had been drinking the night before and was thought to still have alcohol in his system. He was banned from driving for 25 months and also fined heavily. Meanwhile in the US state of Florida, a drunk-driver crashed his car into a police vehicle at an intersection. The police vehicle was then shoved forward into another, resulting in damage to all three cars. Unusually, one of the police vehicles damaged in the incident was specifically intended to heighten the dangers of drink-driving. Both police vehicles were displaying flashing lights at the time, so how he managed not to see them is unclear. The man was found to be heavily intoxicated and charged accordingly and the incident occurred during the ‘Pirate Fest’ celebrations taking place that weekend. It is not clear which pirate character he was hoping to emulate. There were no injuries in the incident and the drunk-driver was taken to the nearest police station in one of the two slightly bent police vehicles.

Related Content

  • Construction machine market starting to recover
    March 19, 2012
    Sandvik’s Thomas Schulz talks to Claire Symes about market recovery in construction. In the three years since the last CONEXPO-CON/AGG exhibition, the construction industry has been through a tremendous change triggered by the global economic downturn. “At the time of the last exhibition in 2008, it was already clear that there was a levelling out occurring in the market,” said Sandvik president of construction Thomas Schulz. “But it was in October that year that the economy went into freefall after the col
    Read More
  • Road safety of concern in Sweden and Israel
    January 8, 2015
    Worrying data on road safety has been released from Sweden and Israel. Sweden’s record on road safety is one of the best in the world, with a combination of tough enforcement and stiff penalties along with effective driver education and training having helped lower the country’s fatality rate. However the latest official figures from the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) show that 275 people were killed on Swedish roads in 2014, compared with 260 people in 2013. This may yet prove to be a stat
    Read More
  • Digital cameras and VMS improve London and Scottish road safety
    March 18, 2016
    London and Scotland are using VMS and digital cameras to successfully lower road deaths. Road safety measures such as variable message signs (VMS) and digital cameras have boosted road safety in the UK capital London and also in the Scottish Highlands. And the systems need not be a drain on electricity supplies. Full matrix driver information signs from SWARCO Traffic, one of the UK’s leading traffic management technology providers, are being installed for the first time across the Transport for London (TfL
    Read More
  • A Wrong Turn
    April 16, 2012
    In the UK a pensioner made a wrong turn that could have ended in disaster. As the 85 year-old woman drove her car across a level crossing, she inexplicably turned onto the railway tracks and then proceeded to drive along them. She drove her Peugeot for some 75m before the car stopped, blocking the busy main line between London's Waterloo station and Bournemouth. The woman and her 20 year-old relative quickly got out of the car and the incident was immediately reported. Train services were stopped until the
    Read More

Highlighted Content