Suffolk driver banned after being 5 times over the drink-drive limit
A 41-year-old man has been banned from the roads for three years after driving on the A140 near Eye earlier this year, whilst more than five-times the drink-drive limit
A 41-year-old man has been banned from the roads for three years after driving on the A140 near Eye earlier this year, whilst more than five-times the drink-drive limit.
Martin Furze, of Shop Street, Worlingworth, appeared before Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 8 July, where he was disqualified from driving for 36 months. This ban will be reduced by 36 weeks on completion of an approved course.
In addition, he was fined £750 and ordered to pay a £114 victim surcharge and £85 costs, making a total of £949 in financial penalties. He was also given a 15-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.
Furze had pleaded guilty to a charge of driving with excess alcohol at a previous hearing before magistrates on Thursday 4 June.
The incident occurred on Sunday 29 March, when police were called by a member of the public at around 6.55pm reporting a car in front of them being driven erratically in Brome.
The caller reported that the grey BMW had nearly gone off the road twice and after briefly pulling over then continued on towards the A140, entering the road at the roundabout to the north of Eye.
They continued to follow the BMW travelling south towards Yaxley whilst keeping the police control room operator updated. The car was repeatedly drifting across the road - going into the northbound side – and also onto the verge at the nearside. The passenger in the car behind managed to capture video footage of this.
The BMW then exited the A140 at the roundabout junction with Castleton Way and headed back towards Eye, where it turned into Cunningham Drive and came to a stop.
The witnesses pulled up a short distance behind and continued to monitor the vehicle until a police officer arrived at the location a few minutes later.
The officer approached the car and found Martin Furze in the driver’s seat. The officer immediately suspected that Furze was intoxicated and so detained him and waited for other officers to arrive to conduct a breath test. When asked by the officer if he had been drinking alcohol, Furze replied “yeah”.
Furze failed a roadside breath test, providing a reading of 170 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath (the legal limit is 35mg in 100ml). He was then taken to Martlesham Police Investigation Centre where he provided an evidential sample of 196mg in 100ml – which is more than five-times the legal limit.
PC Richard Fall, who was the first officer to arrive and detain Furze, said: “We are extremely grateful to the occupants of the car following behind Martin Furze, not only for calling police and alerting us to his manner of driving, but for continuing to follow him and being able to direct us to where he was when I arrived.
“The video footage they captured clearly demonstrates how close Furze came to causing a collision and their vigilance allowed us to intervene before he potentially attempted to continue his journey and put more lives at risk.
“To drive with that amount of alcohol in your system is unbelievably reckless and is the highest anyone in our team has seen. It is extremely fortunate that no one was seriously hurt or killed as a consequence of Furze’s actions that day.
“This month Suffolk Police is supporting the national awareness campaign ‘Operation Spotlight’, which highlights the risks of the ‘Fatal Four’ main causes of serious or fatal collisions: drink/drug driving; speeding; using a mobile phone; and not wearing a seatbelt.
“The dangers posed by drink-driving are clearly evident in this case and our message is simple: don’t do it, it is not worth the risk.”