Drink Drive Mother Ashamed and Mortified

A mother-of-two was three-and-a-half times the drink drive limit when she crashed her car.

To make matters worse her young son was accompanying her as a passenger at the time, but fortunately no-one was injured.

Joanne Taylor, 34, pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle when the amount of alcohol in her breath exceeded the prescribed limit. This is an offence contrary to section 5(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

She crashed her Volkeswagon Scirroco into another car on East Bridge Street, Crook, County Durham on Saturday, 7th April 2018.

Taylor provided a positive roadside breath test to police at the scene of the accident. She was arrested and taken to the police station, where she provided an evidential specimen of breath containing 127 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millitres of breath, the legal limit being only 35 microgrammes (despite what the Northern Echo article says).

The case was dealt with at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court.

Magistrates heard how Taylor, who works in a managerial role, covers a lot of miles in the south west Durham area.

Her solicitor, John Turner, said: "She's never been in trouble with the police. She was ashamed and mortified by what she has done and has been visibly shaken by when she's spoken about it.

"The experience of being arrested and taken to the police station has already been a punishment for her.

"You may be asking, how on earth does a lady of 34 years of age with that sort of background end up in this situation?

"She was in a long-term relationship which broke up last year and the history of that relationship was not good. She sought counselling at that time, but found herself looking after two children and her finances slipped askew."

Mr Turner told the court that Taylor was responsible for caring for her disabled father, who she has to take to regular medical appointments.

However, given the aggravating features of the offence (the high breathalyser reading, accident, child passenger) Magistrates decided that it passed the custody threshold. She was sentenced to eight weeks imprisonment suspended for one year. She was also banned from driving for thirty months.