Restaurant manager caught "showing off" in car banned for 18 months

Tuesday 01 November 2016

A St Brelade restaurant and bar manager has been sentenced to an 18-month driving ban and ordered to pay a £3,000 fine after he admitted charges of drink driving and dangerous driving.

The Magistrate's Court yesterday heard Edward Dawson, 20, of Caledonia Place, had drunk around five pints of lager when he took to the wheel of his car outside Ce Soir nightclub in St Helier and started "showing off" by revving up the engine and screeching the tyres.

Police Legal Advisor Ann Reddrop said the incident happened at 02:45 on October 2nd when police officers heard the sound of screeching car tyres near the Weighbridge. 

Miss Reddrop said: "The officers were at the Weighbridge at the junction of the three pedestrian crossings, when they heard the sound of screeching tyres and an engine revving really hard. They initially thought the sound was coming from the tunnel, but they heard the sound of screeching tyres again and found that it was coming from the direction of Ce Soir and Troubadour. They saw a yellow Ford Puma and again heard the squeal of tyres. The car then did a handbrake turn then started going in reverse. They shouted to stop the car but got no reaction. They tried to physically stop the car and one of them leant in through the window. The only driver in the car was the defendant.

"They realised he had been drinking and he was arrested. He told the officers he had drunk five pints. The officers described the noise and manner of his driving. The distances - we are not talking about very far - but there were still people in the area as it was close to closing time in the nightclubs. There was a small, but steady flow of people." 

Dawson, who had no previous convictions, was taken to the police station where he undertook a breath test which recorded 45mcgs per 100ml of breath. The limit is 35mcgs per 100ml of breath.

Defending Advocate Charlie Sorensen said Dawson stopped the car as soon as he was aware the police were at the scene.

"He stopped immediately. There is no question of the police being in any danger. He accepts his actions were foolish and hugely irresponsible. This was showing off. It was reckless, that cannot be denied, but he did not pose a physical threat to any members of the public. It was an isolated, one-off incident.

"My client works as the manager of the Sugar Reef restaurant and bar in St Brelade and if you are considering a custodial sentence for these offences he would lose his job and his flat. This has been a salutary and serious lesson."  

Magistrate Bridget Shaw said: "I hope you now realise this was extremely foolish. If you are driving a vehicle you are driving something which could kill someone or seriously injure them. You are taking a risk with someone else's life which you do not have any right to do. There was the potential for an accident that night and you had also been drinking. You should not have even thought of getting into a car as you were over the limit. You were not hugely over the limit but it clearly did affect your judgement."