A drunk Newburgh man who crashed his car during a late-night trip on icy roads told a court he had been determined to show his wife a static caravan.
Cupar Sheriff Court heard John Johnston downed six cans of lager before getting behind the wheel on December 12. Sheriff Charles Macnair called the offence astonishing, saying ”nobody could forget” the awful state of Scotland’s roads then.
He said: ”Driving was treacherous enough for those who had nothing to drink, let alone for anyone more than two times over the limit.”
Johnston (39), of West Port, admitted driving with excess alcohol (75 mics, the legal limit is 35) on the Auchtermuchty to Newburgh road. Police were called after fellow drivers saw the accused lose control of the car, which careered off the road on to its roof.
Officers said Johnston smelled strongly of alcohol and was ”rambling” when questioned.
Johnston had drunk around six cans of lager when, depute fiscal Nicola Henderson said, he suggested he and his wife take a drive.
Ms Henderson said: ”The accused said they could take the car to view a static caravan in Auchtermuchty. Mrs Johnston did not think the accused should be driving and tried to stop him, telling him he was being stupid.
”The accused told her it would be alright, saying: ‘We will be back before you know it’.”
As they drove home, shortly after midnight, disaster struck.
Johnston gave a positive breath test and told police: ”The wife told me to drive.”
Sheriff Macnair said Johnston, who has two previous drink-driving convictions, had escaped jail by the ”very narrowest” of margins. He was given two years’ probation and ordered to attend alcohol counselling.
He must also complete 240 hours of community work, was banned from driving for four and a half years and was fined £400 for failing to appear at court on a previous occasion.