Plan B Forum

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2015 2:04 am**

A motorist who ran drink-drive awareness classes has been banned from the road after being caught three times over the limit.

But Alison Baker, of Pinhoe, Devon, was allowed by a judge to attend the course she used to run - which would see her ban reduced by a quarter if completed. The 60-year-old had twice driven to her local petrol station to buy bottles of wine within a couple of hours of one morning last May. But the garage cashier was concerned she was not in a fit state to drive on the second visit and told police, Exeter Magistrates’ Court heard. Officers turned up at her home, and when she eventually answered the door she was so drunk she had to grip walls and furniture to stand up.

Baker had denied drink-driving but was convicted after a trial last month, before being banned from the road for two years yesterday. In an account rejected by a district judge, she blamed the high reading on post-driving consumption and said she had downed one and a half bottles of wine in about ten minutes before the police came to her home. Yesterday, Sonia Croft, prosecuting, said Baker was a trainer on drink-drive courses and should not be allowed her to attend such classes.

She claimed that Baker would know all about the course and gain nothing from it. But Vanessa Francis, defending, said this claim by prosecutors was 'spiteful and unnecessarily punitive'.

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2015 1:09 pm**

They convicted her w/o having the police see her driving or even in the car. ? I'm sure there was other evidence but in the US I don't think they would have bothered to try to prosecute. Perhaps.

yrs,
rubato

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2015 1:26 pm**

The 60-year-old had twice driven to her local petrol station to buy bottles of wine within a couple of hours of one morning last May

They are prosecuting the wrong abuser.... "within a couple of hours of one morning".

At least she was not purchasing a gallon of unleaded and downing that.

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2015 4:39 pm**

Does highlight the advantage of being walking (staggering ) distance to a local store.

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2015 9:22 pm**

It looks to me like she got nailed because of this:

she blamed the high reading on post-driving consumption and said she had downed one and a half bottles of wine in about ten minutes before the police came to her home.

She presented a completely implausible timeline...

The article isn't really clear about this, but it appears that the cops must have gotten her house very quickly, otherwise she wouldn't have been stuck claiming she'd drunk a bottle and a half in 10 minutes...

If they had gotten there after an hour, it would have meant she would have done some seriously quick consuming, but at least it would be a lot more believable...

In that case I doubt she would have been charged with no actual proof she was driving intoxicated beyond the claims of a single individual with no professional training in determining when someone is intoxicated.

If she had been charged under those circumstances, (in this country at least; I don't know how the laws might differ in the UK) even a mediocre attorney would've been able to beat it.

A really good attorney might even be able to beat it with the ten minute problem, especially if they took it to a jury rather than a judge....

DUI cases in this country are usually pretty cut and dried; the person gets observed driving erratically by a cop, they get pulled over and they get a breathalyzer test; if they blow over the limit legal limit they're nailed...

DUI charges without those elements are pretty rare....

Posted: **Fri Mar 20, 2015 2:57 pm**

Even a hard core alcoholic (such as myself) would be hard pressed to drink a bottle and a half (assuming 1 liter bottles) in 10 minutes. A pint to a pint and a half is more likely.

Posted: **Fri Mar 20, 2015 9:56 pm**

There are larger bottles readily available and often for less money than the smaller ones. But the standard bottle of wine is 750ml. So a bo'all an a 'arf would be just over a litre - 1.125

Posted: **Sat Mar 21, 2015 6:05 pm**

oldr_n_wsr wrote:Even a hard core alcoholic (such as myself) would be hard pressed to drink a bottle and a half (assuming 1 liter bottles) in 10 minutes. A pint to a pint and a half is more likely.

Aside from MajGenls correction on the typical volume of wine bottles there is another issue; it takes time for alcohol to be absorbed and show up on a BAC test whether breath, urine, or blood. There is a range from 30min to over an hour, depending. There are not enough details in the posted story to know what the total sequence of events was, in any case.

She's lucky to be convicted for this and be given the chance to do something about it and not after shes killed someone or caused some horrible injury.

yrs,
rubato

Posted: **Sat Mar 21, 2015 10:25 pm**

... not to mention the crime involved in buying wine at a petrol station. I'm sure they have wonderful vintages lined up there

Posted: **Tue Mar 31, 2015 5:20 am**

Snob!

Posted: **Tue Mar 31, 2015 12:01 pm**

This from Mr. "I just touched Heston's hem and then I hung out with my good friend Billy drinking the best scotch in the world while we supped on healthy seaweed, rice and salmon skin a la mode"?

Posted: **Tue Mar 31, 2015 12:35 pm**

MajGenl.Meade wrote:This from Mr. "I just touched Heston's hem and then I hung out with my good friend Billy drinking the best scotch in the world while we supped on healthy seaweed, rice and salmon skin a la mode"?

No, "This from" BSG...

I guess as one advances in years, it becomes tough to keep track of who you're talking to...

Posted: **Tue Mar 31, 2015 12:49 pm**

He's been hittin' the good stuff, you know, from the supermarket!

yrs,
rubato

Posted: **Tue Mar 31, 2015 3:36 pm**

on me!

That's the second time I've managed to scramble bigskygal into gob (not a recipe). Really should wear my glasses (no, not drinking glasses) first thing in the morning when the old eyes are still trying to stay shut! Either that or LJ's got a point. That's nice - he deserves one, once in a while.

rubato

Posted: **Tue Mar 31, 2015 4:05 pm**

... those who can't, teach."

This quote was one of my father's favorites. He was a wonderful teacher.

Posted: **Tue Mar 31, 2015 4:43 pm**

That's the second time I've managed to scramble bigskygal into gob

Uh, actually, the last time it was Big RR, not Strop...

Posted: **Tue Mar 31, 2015 8:18 pm**

Yeah, the LAST time but not the time before... so there! And there was a Guin instead of a Sue (or vice versa) somewhere in there. I think I even confused you and rubato once but that's a lot easier to understand

Posted: **Tue Mar 31, 2015 8:20 pm**

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