Preston man caught drink driving despite using home breathalyser testing kit
A road safety charity's urging us not to rely on home breathalyser testing kits after a Preston man was caught drink driving after using one.
A road safety charity's urging us not to rely on home breathalyser testing kits after a Preston man was caught drink driving after using one.
31-year old Igor Ornovskis of Hornbeam Close, Wesham was told he was safe to drive by a DIY kit, but the police's equipment found he was actually over the legal limit.
He's been banned from driving for three years and fined nearly four hundred pounds after admitting to a drink driving charge at Blackpool Magistrates.
Mike Bristow is from BRAKE - he says that home kits can be programmed for European countries rather than the UK's drink drive limit.
The charity says the best policy is not drink and drive at all rather than relying on a home breathalyser testing kit. Prosecutor, Adrian Hollamby, said on 6th February at about 2am police stopped Ornovskis in Mellor Road, Kirkham, after seeing him driving a Honda Accord slowly, weaving from side-to-side.
A breath test showed 46 microgrammes of alcohol in his body - 35 is the limit. Ornovskis had a previous drink-drive conviction from 2011.
Suzanne Mugford, defending, told magistrates that on the night of the offence Ornovskis, a married father-of-two, had had two drinks with friends."
Ms Mugford added: "About two years ago he had bought a breathalyser device. He says he tested himself on that machine before taking the decision to drive his vehicle, as the reading showed he was below the limit. He was somewhat surprised by the result of the police breathalyser machine."