DRIVER SAID SORRY TO WOMAN AFTER CRASHING INTO HER WALL
Motorist refused to take breath test after admitting driving
MOTORIST Joshua Jones has been banned from the roads after he refused to give police a breath sample.
The 26-year-old failed a roadside breath test after he crashed his car into a wall, and admitted he had been drinking.
But when he was taken to police custody, he refused to undergo the testing procedure which is used as evidence in court.
Magistrates at North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard police were called to an incident in Fenton on October 4, and Jones gave an alcohol reading of 88 micrograms in 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit is 35.
Prosecutor Sara Beddow said: “At the police station, when asked to complete the test procedure, he said, ‘I’m in the wrong either way. I’m not taking a test’.
“He was warned about the consequences of not providing a sample. He said, ‘I’m screwed either way, aren’t I?’.”
Jones, of Ashdale Road, Fenton, pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to provide a specimen for analysis.
The court heard he told police a fox or a badger had run out in front of him, causing the collision.
Andrew Bennett, mitigating, said: “The reading at the roadside was 88. The evidential reading at the police station is invariably lower than the roadside reading.
“The car was properly insured and the damage has been put right and paid for.
“He has been round to see the householder, who was sufficiently moved by that act that she wanted me to say something about it.
“Mr Jones works hard in the family business which installs heat pumps.
“He has been going through some difficulties and accepts his alcohol use may have gone up, but he is dealing with that through his own auspices.”
Magistrates said Jones had learned ‘a valuable lesson’.
He was fined £600 and disqualified from driving for six months. He must also pay £195 in costs and charges.