An Aberdeen man caught drink-driving for a third time has been spared jail.
Richard McAllister, 57, admitted driving his white Peugeot 2008 whilst almost five times over the limit on King Street earlier this year.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that McAllister has two previous convictions for drink-driving dating back to 2016 and 2019.
The court was told that a concerned member of the public contacted police on February 13 at around 11.50am to report a driver who seemed to be under the influence of alcohol.
Smell of booze coming from driver
Fiscal depute Emma Evans said police stopped McAllister’s car on King Street and found he was the driver of the vehicle.
She added: “The officers noted there was a smell of alcohol emanating from [McAllister] and he appeared under the influence.
“They carried out a positive roadside breath test and [McAllister] confirmed he had not drunk any alcohol in the last twenty minutes – but had drunk the evening prior.”
McAllister was then taken to Kittybrewster Custody Suite where a further test showed he had 93mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath (the limit being 22mcg) and was almost five times the legal limit.
Ms Evans confirmed McAllister had since sold his car, so would not be applying for its forfeiture.
Previous convictions
McAllister’s defence solicitor Jenny Logan referenced her client’s two previous drink-driving convictions but noted that he had not been convicted of driving while disqualified.
“He accepts this was not an appropriate decision to be driving that morning,” she said.
Sheriff Gareth Jones said McAllister was “lucky not to be going to prison”, adding: “You have pled guilty yet again to the offence of driving over the limit and have two analogous convictions where you were disqualified for firstly two years, and again for 14 months.
At risk of going to jail
“This will be the third conviction – you are at risk of being sent to prison today.
“Bearing in mind your report and the difficulties with your mental health – for which you are being treated – I will impose a lengthy ban as a result of the high reading.”
As a direct alternative to custody, McAllister was disqualified from driving for six years and also placed under supervision for 18 months.
A Restriction of Liberty Order was also imposed, meaning McAllister cannot leave his School Drive address between the hours of 7pm and 7am daily for eight months.
Sheriff Jones said McAllister did not qualify for the Drink Driving Rehabilitation Scheme and he would need to sit an extended driving test to get his licence returned.
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