"It's too late now"

Monday 03 December 2018

A 38-year-old driver, who drunkenly crashed his car into a wall has been told that he should have thought about the consequences of his actions, before getting behind the wheel.

Kristopher Paul Moors, who was found to have driven while twice the legal limit on 23 November, was sentenced to 90 hours of community service and disqualified from driving for 18 months.

He appeared in the Magistrate's Court last week for sentencing.

Magistrate Bridget Shaw heard that Moors had been drinking after work before he drove his car home. Around 20:00, he was found in his car by officers on Route de la Trinité. Officers noticed damage to the bank of a nearby wall. Moors was sat in the car with the keys in the ignition and both airbags had been activated. 

Moors' speech was slightly slurred and he told officers he thought he had only drunk a couple of pints. A test revealed he had 73 micrograms of alcohol in 100 ml of blood.

Pictured: Moors appeared in the Magistrate's Court last week.

His lawyer, Advocate Christina Hall, said Moors was very embarrassed to find himself in court and had written a letter of apology.

She said he had no previous convictions and was of incredibly good character. She reminded the Court that Moors had been cooperative "at all times" with police. 

Advocate Hall explained that Moors was experiencing family issues, which had particularly affected him in recent weeks. She described Moors' current situation as a stressful time, adding that he been doing some "soul searching."

She urged the Magistrate to fine Moors instead of opting for a community service order, which it was felt could impact his family life. "It's not that he doesn’t want to do community service," Advocate Hall explained.

Advocate Hall also told Court that Moors was concerned he could lose his job. His employer was said to have told him that a custody sentence would be enough "to bring the firm into disrepute."

Magistrate Shaw told Moors: "You clearly feel terrible now you realise what a risk you posed to yourself, the passenger, and other people, how this has affected your family life... It’s too late now. You can’t go drink after work to get yourself twice over the limit and then think you can drive."

"Think first. It's very simple!" she added, before reminding all other drivers to not drink and drive over the holiday period. Magistrate Shaw had previously issued the same warning earlier in the day when sentencing a 20-year-old who drunkenly crashed his car while on bail for punching a taxi driver after refusing to pay his £18 fare. 

“Everyone driving over Christmas should think of the consequences of driving intoxicated before getting into a car, not after."