Teenager drove to escape ‘unsafe’ situation

A distressed teenager caught drink-driving on the Friarton Bridge was escaping a menacing encounter with a male friend, a court has heard.

The 17-year-old had spent the evening drinking with the man but was forced to flee when things took a sinister turn.

A court was told the teenager sent a coded message to her best friend to let her know she felt unsafe. She then decided to get away under her own steam and drove back home to Aberfeldy.

She was pulled over by police after a member of the public reported her erratic driving on the M90.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted driving along the motorway at the Friarton Bridge with an alcohol reading of 70mics in 100ml of breath of breath. The legal limit is 22mics.

She was banned from the road for a year and fined £300.

Sheriff Mark O’Hanlon told her: “This was an unfortunate situation that you found yourself in. I can understand that you would have been in distress.”

Solicitor Linda Clark, defending, said: “She’s not a frequent drinker but on this day she had made arrangements to meet a male friend.

“She travelled down to his home and accompanied him on a shopping trip.

“There, they purchased some alcohol and then returned to his place of residence.”

Ms Clark said: “She drank some of the alcohol but then, she tells me, the atmosphere shifted.

“She felt that she had to flee the premises.”

The solicitor told the court: “She understands she will be disqualified.

“She offers her apologies to the court for her conduct.”