FINE OF £30.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 28, 3 February 1937, Page 5

FINE OF £30.

LICENSE CANCELLED. i INTOXICATION CHARGE. LORRY DRIVER'S ACCIDENT. A line of £•"!" was imposed by Mr. C. K. >rr Walker. S.M. in the Police Court estcrday on Raymond Victor Lawless, ov\-\ driver, aged 28, who was charged vith being intoxicated while in charge >f a motor ear in Richmond Road on .liristmas Kve and with operating a ehiele without two independent brakes, rlis license was cancelled for IS months. Accused, for whom Mr. -I. J. Sullivan ippeared. pleaded not guilty. Sub-Inspector Fox. outlining the facts, -aid that at S.:>(l on Christmas Eve. H-cused's. car turned to its left in Richmond Road and col lid e<l with two women who were crossing the road. The women said thev were across both >ets til tramlines. >() that accused must have been on his wrong r-ide when he struck them. One of the women was seriously injured. It was alleged that Lawless was in a state of intoxication and that he was not in a tit condition to have charge of a car. After lengthy evidence had been heard for the prosecution and fur the defence, the magistrate said that the had largely develu]>ed into a charge of negligent driving, as much of the e\idence hardly bore on intoxication. He was impelled to find, however, that accused drove his car while intoxicated to a certain degree. His judgment had been sorely affected and it was clear that the accident happened more towards the wrong side of the road. "One might say that the biggest factor in the accident was the tin forgivable fact that accused drove blind, without a windscreen wiper on a wet night," remarked the magistrate. "'Such a practice is highly dangerous and wholly indefensible."' Sub-Inspector Fox produced a list of previous convictions against accused, including small tines for drunkenness and a fine for negligent driving in 1927. Mr. Sullivan stressed that accused, who was the sole supporter of his widowed mother, would lose his onlv source of livelihood in the event of losing his license. "•] regret that I must take away his license, partly a<< punishment, but mostly to prevent other persons from taking -imilar risk*." said Mr. Orr Walker. "It is a serious thing to the public for a man to be prepared to drive a vehicle on a busy street while ' under the influence of liquor." Accused was fined £30 and costs £1 17/ and hU license was cancelled for 18 months.