Drink-driver’s ‘act of substantial folly’

COURT: Muthill man Mark Boyle lost control of van as he tried to negotiate a bend in Crieff

You knew that you were not entitled to drive this vehicle and you knew that you were unfit to drive . . .

SHERIFF WILLIAM WOOD

A drink-driver who smashed into a wall at high speed while under the influence of alcohol had already been barred from driving because of his drug use.

The DVLA had revoked Mark Boyle’s licence after learning of his struggles with cannabis, but that did not stop him driving while intoxicated in July.

Perth Sheriff Court heard the 28-yearold lost control of his van as he tried to negotiate a bend on Crieff’s Drummond Terrace.

Witnesses saw his van collide with a wall before crossing the road, mounting a path and hitting a second wall.

Boyle was told he had been guilty of “an act of substantial folly” that had imperilled the lives of pedestrians and other road users.

He denied a charge of dangerous driving but was convicted following a trial at the court.

A woman told the court she saw the van approaching along Drummond Terrace at high speed.

She said: “As it took the corner very fast it glanced off the wall on the lefthand side.

“It then made a right angle across the road and through the wall and halfway into the garden of the house across the road. Our dog got a terrible fright and took off along the road.”

Her husband told the trial: “His engine was revving quite loud. The van hit the first wall sideways.

“It then zigzagged across the road and hit a wall on the other side of Knock Road. The wall was demolished.”

Boyle, of Muthill, was found guilty of driving dangerously and at excessive speed and failing to negotiate a bend in Crieff on July 28.

He had already admitted charges of driving without a licence and with excess alcohol (73 mic). The limit is 22 mic.

Solicitor David Holmes said his client, a gas fitter, had suffered with anxiety and drug problems.

“His licence had been revoked because of his cannabis use but he was about to get his licence back, subject to a medical test, when this incident occurred. He is a hard-working man.”

Sheriff William Wood told Boyle: “This was an act of substantial folly, made worse by the fact that you were at all times fully aware of what you were doing.

“You knew that you were not entitled to drive this vehicle and you knew that you were unfit to drive, having consumed a considerable amount of alcohol.

“Had you turned in the other direction, the people who witnessed this crash and were standing on the corner might have been in peril of their lives.”

Boyle was ordered to carry out 270 hours of unpaid work and restricted to his home between the hours of 8pm and 5am for the next 14 weeks.

He was banned from the road for 32 months and will be under the supervision of social workers for 12 months.

Drink-driver Mark Boyle was told that if he had turned in the other direction, the people who witnessed his crash and were standing on the corner might have been in peril of their lives.