Coupar Angus man fined and banned after ‘gross stupidity’

An HGV driver wrote off his car and his career in a moment “of gross stupidity”.

Robert Zimbehl was more than four times the legal alcohol limit when he crashed into a grass verge on the A923.

He had been meeting a friend for drinks for the first time in 20 years and apparently intended to get a taxi home.

Instead he took the decision to drive and crashed between Blairgowrie and his home town of Coupar Angus.

Police officers found his white Ford Focus sitting in the middle of the road, facing the wrong way.

The accused was standing next to it, car keys in his hand and “clearly under the influence of alcohol”.

Zimbehl, of Hay Street in Coupar Angus, gave a positive roadside breath test and subsequently admitted driving with excess alcohol on February 5 this year.

He gave a reading of 94 mics. The legal limit is just 22.

Perth Sheriff Court heard his car had sustained serious damage in the crash, which saw him lose control and strike a grass verge.

The collision with a tree stump caused one the car’s axles to become partially detached.

Solicitor Mike Tavendale said: “For reasons he cannot fathom he took the decision to drive home. He says it was just gross stupidity.

“Clearly the reading he gave was very high. “He was an HGV driver but he lost his job as a result of this incident and his car was written off.”

“It has been a catastrophic misjudgment.”

Zimbehl was ordered to carry out 125 hours of unpaid work and banned from the road for 30 months.