Motorist escapes driving ban after Good Samaritan act

A motorist caught driving with excess alcohol, escaped a driving ban after performing a Good Samaritan act for an 80-year-old neighbour who had found himself locked out of his home on a freezing cold New Year's Eve night.

Ian Archibald McBride of Dalriada Gardens, Ballycastle, was said to have had no intention of driving, but when he saw his neighbour's plight, decided to drive him to his daughter's home where he could get a set of keys.

At North Antrim Magistrates Court last Wednesday, Counsel for the defendant, Francis Rafferty, persuaded District Judge Richard Wilson that the circumstances were such that the court could be satisfied that his client had no intention of driving until an emergency cropped up.

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After listening to the plea, Mr. Wilson said it was a "more meriterious case than many that had been advanced before" and he was "sufficiently satisfied that discretion should be exercised" before imposing a fine of 100.

The court was told that a 1 a.m. on New Year's morning, defendant's vehicle was observed on the Coleraine Road in Ballycastle crossing the centre of the hazard white lines with all four wheels and on to the side of oncoming traffic.

The vehicle then turned into a housing estate where it mounted the kerb. Police stopped the car and spoke to McBride whose speech was slurred and whose breath smelt of alcohol.

He was arrested and taken to Coleraine police station where a test revealed 70 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood - twice the legal limit, prosecution counsel said.

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In his plea, Mr. Rafferty, who was instructed by Anderson, Agnew and Company, Ballymena, said his client had a 40-year unblemished record. He described how on New Year's Eve his client had taken some drink. He left his home to take his dog for a walk and while out, saw his neighbour standing in the cold.

The neighbour explained that he had got a lift home with his daughter who had then driven off with the house keys leaving him locked out.

"The neighbour asked my client if he could drive him the short distance to his daughter's home for the keys and given the fact that it was a bitterly cold night and the neighbour was of considerable infirmity, defendant took the opportunity - in hindsight foolishly - to drive him," Mr. Rafferty said.

He went on: "My client offered to wait, but the man refused. It was when the defendant was returning to his home that he was apprehended by police.

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"This is a classic situation where the court can be satisfied on the balance of probability that my client had no intention of driving. He had left his house to walk his dog and an emergency - not a major life-threatening emergency, but it was clearly an emergency - cropped up when the neighbour was unable to telephone his daughter.

"This is a situation where my client acted as a Good Samaritan and was genuinely doing something for another person and for the safety of another person. The court has to take account that there is no disputing that he was over the limit, but this was an unusual set of circumstances which I would submit the court can be satisfied that he had no intention of driving in the first place.

"It was also a situtation where many people would not have concerned themselves as opposed to stopping and asking if everything was okay."

Mr. Wilson commented: "Here we had somebody willing to act as a Good Samaritan for another person who was not in the best of health. He was helping another elderly person who, unfortunately, had got locked out. The weather was inclement and it was a short distance."

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