Pleasley motorist who refused breath test because he had not driven is banned
An over-the-limit Derbyshire motorist who refused a roadside breath test on the grounds he had not been driving has been handed a ban.
Matthew Walker, aged 24, was seen walking away from his car by police who were called out to reports of an ‘ntoxicated man attempting to drive’.
Rosie McDaid, prosecuting, told Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court police took Walker into custody, where he again refused a test.
Annis Rowlands, Walker’s solicitor, said: “He refused to provide a sample because to his mind he had not been driving.”
However, Walker, of New Terrace, Pleasley, admitted failing to provide a specimen for analysis.
Ms Rowlands said that night Walker had left the Chesterfield flat where he had been staying .because of a fallout’.
She said: “This left him high and dry, having taken drink that evening – so he goes back to his vehicle and in the meantime a member of the public has telephoned police.
“People don’t appreciate the legal requirement to provide a specimen of breath and go on to raise a defence thereafter.”
Ms Rowlands said that the aerospace engineer relied on his car to get to work and a driving ban would come at a ‘great cost’.
However, banning him from the roads for a year, magistrates told him: “It was a daft thing to do, wasn’t it? You’ve learned something haven’t you – that you cannot refuse to take a breath test.”
Walker was also fined £230 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £34 surcharge.
