A Highworth drink driver who showed little remorse has been given a lengthy roads ban.
Rosanne Westwood, 33, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen of breath in custody – after blowing a reading of nearly three times the legal limit at the roadside.
Swindon Magistrates’ Court this afternoon (Tuesday) heard how the defendant, of The Green, was brought to a stop by a concerned motorist on the A420 on 8 February this year.
It was 11.30pm when the member of the public witnessed her swerving her car across the lanes, and took it into his own hands to try and prevent her from driving into another vehicle.
He drove in front of her and slowed his vehicle down, with Westwood coming to a stop. He leapt out of his car and confiscated her keys – police officers arrived just moments later.
Keith Ballinger, prosecuting, said that she provided a roadside breath test reading of 101 microgrammes – nearly three times over the legal drink-drive limit of 35 microgrammes.
But in custody, she failed to provide an evidential sample. When asked if she had any medical issues in relation to breathing, she became verbally abusive towards officers.
Representing herself in the courtroom, Westwood said she was “more than capable of driving my car” before adding that she “felt the whole situation was dealt with incorrectly actually”.
She said a driving ban would mean she could not go to work as it’s in rural Oxfordshire.
Chair of the bench David Barrand handed Westwood a 30-month disqualification from driving, fined her £320 and told her to pay £85 costs and a £128 surcharge.
“30 [months]?! I won’t be able to work”, she remarked. Mr Barrand responded: “You should have thought about that before you did this.”
