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news
Justice (Lonpicman, Wikimedia Commons)Drink-driver who knocked her landlord off his bike says low sun was to blame
A Barnstaple drink-driver was fined and had her licence endorsed after driving into her landlord and knocking him off his bike. Nicola Mowcoomber pleaded guilty to drink-driving and driving without insurance, but claimed it was not an instance of bad driving and that the incident had been caused by the low sun.
The North Devon Journal reports that Mowcoomber, the general manager of a pub, had drunk three white wine and sodas after work before driving home.
The prosecution said that she drove up behind a cyclist “in a tight location” and collided with him, although it was unclear whether or not she had been trying to overtake at the time.
Mowcoomber called emergency services and the victim – who turned out to be her landlord – was found to have suffered a fractured shoulder, soft tissue damage and a head injury.
A roadside breath test showed a positive reading for alcohol and a further test showed a reading of 62 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit being 35.
Defending, Mr Waters said that Mowcoomber took responsibility for her actions, but said the effects of the alcohol may have been exacerbated by her "slight build".
He also said that she did not consider the collision to have been caused by bad driving, despite the fact she apparently didn’t see the victim before she hit him.
"She was going back to where she lives in Hiscott, going down a narrow lane and the sun was low in the sky and she didn't see the bicycle. She says it was not a situation of bad driving – she was at a low speed but couldn't see."
Speaking about the victim being Mowcoomber’s landlord, Waters added that, “… he seems to be sympathetic and has no ill will, even though he suffered some nasty injuries. She held his hand until the emergency services arrived."
Mowcoomber was fined £250 for drink-driving and fined another £100 for driving without insurance, for which her licence was also endorsed. Magistrates also ordered her to pay £200 compensation to the victim, as well as court costs of £50.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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46 comments
True, find a Magistrates' one and I'll fill that in too.
5.1 miles. No reason whatsoever not to lose your job for such a short commute.
She was pissed, nearly double the drink drive limit. What more of an example of bad driving could you need. What with the illegality of drunk driving and lacking insurance, I don't see why there was no charge of Dangerous driving, especially with the injuries involved.
And I know it's been commented on many times before, but why is the fine for driving without insuance always so low?
Can't believe they report her excuse as fact. Bright sunlight does not cause accidents. Drivers driving where they can't see cause accidents.
Maybe if bright sunlight is so dangerous, all driving should be banned when the sun is low on clear days.
Found the local paper report. Read and weep.
http://www.northdevonjournal.co.uk/barnstaple-drink-driver-knocked-her-l...
Some of this country's magistrates are a fucking joke. The way they apparently accept drivel and nonsense from a defence solicitor is outrageous. We should only ever have stipendiary magistrates in this country. They are a joy to watch in magistrates court and take no crap from defence solicitors.
Oh that sort of landlord. Was just pondering happily doing the same thing...
The incredible self justification of awful driving is almost universal, see the comments on this page http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/watch-shocking-moment-driver-overtook-on-a-...
Apparently, driving a car means that you don't have to follow any of the rules, but if you ride a bike, you have to follow all of them.
Including the ones that don't actually exist.
Oh yes - the non-existent ones are the most important...!
Just read the newspaper report, drink driving and no insurance but no ban as "she may lose her job due to transport difficulties" So no doubt she'll just pay the 1st premium and go back to her bad habits.
She's the general manager of a pub so must be aware of how alcohol affects drivers for ffs, there plenty of posters in all pubs now.
Yet again a Magistrate with no idea of the real world.
Surely the correct response to a plea of "but I need my car to get to work!" is "well you probably should have thought about that"
Get to 'work', she a fucking barmaid, it's not like she's a brain surgeon. I Hopefully the next time she has a couple of drinks and drives home it's a tree she hits (because of the low sun)
drink driving - and hitting someone - £250
cycling on the pavement and not hitting anyone - over £1000
I must be crazy because it seems reality for me is out of step with reality for the UK justice system.
Where to start...
May as well just laugh. What else can you do??
Surely she received a ban of some kind?
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