A dental nurse has been banned from driving after she reported herself to police.
Lindsay O’Brien, 38, claimed she had to flee from her home in the early hours after arguing with her husband, RAF engineer and dental business owner Vince O’Brien.
Perth Sheriff Court was told O’Brien was nearly three times over the limit when she drove on to a dual carriageway and pulled into a layby.
Depute fiscal Tina Dickie told the court: “The accused and her husband were at home watching a film and drinking alcohol.
“At some point in the evening the couple had an argument and the accused gathered some belongings and left. It was just before 3am.
“The accused contacted police and stated she was in a layby on the A90. She said she was in her car and had an argument with her husband and had to leave.
“They traced the accused within her car. She complied with a breath test which she failed and was arrested. She was taken to the police station in Dundee.”
O’Brien told police: “The only reason I did it was to get away from my husband who was trying to assault me.”
The court was shown photographs of bruising on her arms.
O’Brien, of Viewfield Place, Perth, admitted drink-driving on the A90 Perth to Dundee road near Glencarse on 5 April.
The Crown accepted her not guilty plea to a charge of attacking her husband by kneeing, biting and scratching him in Abbey Lane, Errol.
Solicitor Rosemary Scott, defending, said: “Her phone had been pinging as she had been sending messages during the course of the film and had then fallen asleep.
“When she woke up, her husband was going through her messages on the phone and that led to an argument. She was frightened for her safety.
“She felt she had to get out, so grabbed a bag and left. She got in the car and drove to the dual carriageway, about five miles, and stopped in the first layby she came to.
“She herself called the police. With hindsight there is a neighbour next door she could have gone to, but she was concerned her husband would follow her.
“She explained to the police she had been drinking and was aware she was over the limit. This has had catastrophic consequences for her.”
Sheriff Pino di Emidio banned O’Brien from driving for 12 months and fined her £400.
Mr O’Brien, who spent a decade in the RAF as an avionics engineer before later returning as an RAF reserve, did not respond to an approach for comment.
