FINE OF £5

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 17, 31 October 1949, Page 2

FINE OF £5

INTOXICATED MOTOR-CYCLIST

Charged with being found intoxicated in charge of a motorcycle in Walnut Avenue on Saturday evening, Philip Horace Guy, aged 43, mill-hand, appeared before Messrs G. Kelly and J. F. Cleary, J’s.P., in the Magistrate’s Court at Ashburton today, and was fined £5.

Defendant, who was not represented by counsel, pleaded guilty. Senior-Sergeant C. H. Reardon, who prosecuted, explained that, about 6.15 p.m. on Saturday, Traffic Inspector J. A. Arthur was in his car near the railway station when defendant rode past in a somewhat erratic manner. The inspector followed, and, in Walnut Avenue, saw defendant riding on the wrong side of the road, also swerving from side to side. After questioning defendant, the inspector took him to the station, and there he was examined by a doctor at 7.10. He was then charged with the offence and released on bail in his own recognisance of £25. ■ Defendant was a married man, with six children aged from five to 17 years, continued the Senior-Sergeant, and he had not previously been in trouble. At the station he was naturally very worried, but was quite civil and his conduct throughout was good. Speaking from the box, defendant said that the machine he was riding was an auto-cycle, very light and hard to control at times. Had he been really intoxicated, he could not have ridden it, but he had felt quite capable of doing so.' There was practically no traffic about- in Walnut.. Avenue, and, knowing the wideness of the road, he had not paid much attention to keeping on the correct side. When told to come to the police station, he had offered to ride the cycle there, but the inspector would not allow this. \ , . xl Stating that they were taking the circumstances into consideration and making the penalty as low as possible; the bench imposed a fine of £5. It did not appear a very serious case of intoxication. Defendant’s driving licence was also cancelled, and the court agreed that time would be allowed for payment of the fine, this to bo fixed by the magistrate.. ‘‘Even though.we would like to do so, we have no power to, order suppression of your name,” said the Bench, when defendant made an application for this.