Drink driving mum sentenced for putting toddler at risk

Thursday 01 August 2019

A mother, who drove her toddler whilst over the drink-drive limit, has been banned from driving for two years and handed a community service order for putting the child at risk.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to 100 hours’ community service in the Magistrate's Court for the incident which took place at the end of June of this year.

The Court was told that the authorities were called when the woman who appeared to be in a “confused state” parked at a supermarket in St. Saviour.

It transpired that she had “damaged her car” and the car park “was the nearest safe place” to stop.

Pictured: The case was heard in the Magistrate's Court.

When the woman failed a roadside breath test, she was arrested “on suspicion of driving whilst over the prescribed limit”. She told Officers that she’d “only had two glasses of wine.” 

It was found that she had a reading of 78mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath – which is just over double the drink-drive limit. 

She admitted the two charges brought against her – drink driving and exposing a child to risk of harm. 

Advocate Martin Elks, representing the defendant, told the Court that his client had had a “difficult upbringing” and, as a result, had developed a “perilous relationship with alcohol. 

However, he added that this incident served as a reminder of “how far she could fall if she didn’t address these issues”. The advocate added that she had already taken steps to address her drinking. 

“It’s hard to see how she could be any more remorseful than she is,” Advocate Elks told the Court. 

Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris, presiding, decided to hand the woman 100 hours of community service and banned her from driving for two years.

He also invited her to voluntarily work with the Probation Service to tackle her difficulties with alcohol. She was also informed that at the end of the two-year period she will have to re-take and pass a Jersey driving test before she can get back behind the wheel.