A drink-driving student was found to be seven times the limit after police were called to an accident on a Fife road.
Tara Patel, 24, was in a Volkswagen Polo at the crash site in Dalgety Bay when police arrived.
Bottles of alcohol were found in the car.
Although she was cleared of causing the accident, Patel pled guilty to drink-driving in a Volkswagen Polo (159mics/ 22) on Western Access Road on March 9 this year.
Vodka, MD 20/20 and Sourz bottles in car
Prosecutor Matthew McPherson told Dunfermline Sheriff Court it was around 10.25pm on a Saturday evening when police were called to an accident.
The fiscal depute said: “They found Miss Patel in the driver seat of her vehicle.
“When officers approached, she said ‘It was me that caused the impact’ and they noted it down.”
Patel failed a roadside breath test and she was subsequently arrested, the fiscal depute said.
He continued: “Police officers found productions within the vehicle including an empty bottle of MD 20/20, a three-quarters full Smirnoff bottle of vodka, and a half-full bottle of Apple Sourz.”
A not guilty plea was accepted by the prosecution to a charge that Patel drove carelessly by travelling on the opposite side of the carriageway and colliding with another vehicle, damaging it.
‘Not thinking clearly’
Defence lawyer Alexander Flett said first offender Patel, of Rocks Road, Charlestown, near Rosyth, is a retail worker and student who has graduated with a degree in psychology and intends to return to undertake a master’s degree.
He said: “She would be in a position to pay a financial penalty.”
Mr Flett said Patel advises she passed her driving test around a year ago and there have been no previous incidents.
He said Patel and her boyfriend had gone to get food with the intention of leaving the vehicle and taking alternative transport home.
Patel attributes her decision to drive instead to “not thinking clearly, having consumed alcohol”.
He said Patel indicates perhaps she and her boyfriend had drunk one of the bottles found in the vehicle but it was not linked to the offence.
Banned and fined
Sheriff Krista Johnston told Patel: “It’s very unfortunate to see the reading and the fact you are in court.
“You are still just a young person of 24, you have pled guilty at the first opportunity.
“I am, just, persuaded there is no need for a report (which would inform a custodial sentence or alternative) and I can deal with it by way of a period of disqualification and financial penalty.”
The sheriff banned her from driving for 16 months – discounted from 24 due to the early plea – and fined her £400.
The sheriff said she would allow Patel to undertake the drink-drive rehabilitation course which, if successfully completed, means she can apply for her licence after 12 months.
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