Drink-driver caught after veering over white line on A41 near Whitchurch
A drink-driver who was caught after he was seen veering over the centre white line of a road has been banned from driving for 16 months.
Liam Dowd was behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Corsa when he was pulled over by police on the A41 at Sandford, near Whitchurch, on March 6, Telford Magistrates Court heard yesterday.
Ms Abigail Hall, prosecuting, said the 21 year old was pulled over at about 4.40am. She said: "Officers were on patrol on the A41. They had cause to stop a Vauxhall Corsa. They stated the vehicle had been veering over the centre white line and the driver was braking unnecessarily."
She said Dowd failed a roadside breath test. He was taken to the police station where he was given another test.
He was found to have 60 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
The legal limit is 35mg. Dowd, of Philips Lane, Great Sutton, Ellesmere Port, pleaded guilty to driving a vehicle while over the drink-drive limit.
Dowd, who represented himself, said he currently worked in the armed forces but was due to leave in June. He told the court he had been driving since the age of 17.
Dowd was banned from driving for 16 months and ordered to pay a £400 fine, £135 costs and £40 victim surcharge.
Police in West Mercia staged extra patrols in December as part of a month-long winter drink-drive campaign. Officers said that despite annual crackdowns people were still gambling and taking to the roads after consuming drink or drugs.
During the past three years, 10 people were killed and 108 seriously injured across the force area where drink or drugs were recorded as a contributory factory.
Officers warned that there is no foolproof way of calculating how much you can drink and remain under the limit, or knowing how much an individual person can drink and still drive safely.
