Drunken driver jailed

Press, 10 March 1982, Page 4

Drunken driver jailed

A man convicted. for the tenth time of driving.with an excess blood alcohol level was disqualified for 10 years and sent to prison for six months by Judge Bradford in the District Court yesterday. Alexander John Gough, aged 43, a driver (Mr D. J. Taffs) had admitted four excess blood alcohol offences committed between June, 1981, and January 26, this year. - After reading summaries of the particular offences, Sergeant J. Smith, of the Ministry of Transport, said he had been instructed to express the department’s gravest concern about Gough and his offending and to seek a deterrent sentence. Sergeant Smith said the defendnat already had six prior convictions for offences of a similar nature. The-Judge said the defendant had had a problem with alcohol for. a number of

years and that his drinkingdriving convictions went back to 1969. The time had now come when the public interest superceded those of the defendant, said the Judge. In imposing the sentence the Judge also hoped that it would serve as a deterrent to others. In addition to imprisonment, Gough was put on

probation for 12 months and was ordered to undertake such treatment as was directed for his alcoholism. Counsel (Mr D. J. Taffs) said his client. realised he faced a strong possibility of a term of imprisonment on the charges for which he appeared ,for sentence. , A prison term previously served by Gough had been no deterrent and Mr Taffs urged

the Judge to consider the imposition of a combination of suspended sentences, periodic detention and enforced treatment for his al-' coholism while on probation. This would, submitted Mr Taffs, enable Gough the opportunity to rehabilitate himself from alcoholism as it appeared he did not seem to have had any serious treatment for his problem.