Early Morning Drive That Cost £l5

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 6, 8 January 1936, Page 2

Early Morning Drive That Cost £ls

MOTORIST COLLIDES WITH TWO STATIONARY VEHICLES.

PLEADS GUILTY TO CHARGE OF

INTOXICATION.

An early morning drive up Broadway yesterday cost a motorist over £ls and the cancellation of his driver’s license until May 31.

Leslie Herbert Titchener, aged 5-1, retired, was yesterday charged before Messrs. A. J. Graham and M. A. Eliott, J’sP., that on January 7 ho was intoxicated while in charge of a car in Broadway.

Accused pleaded guilty. Senior-Sergeant Moriarty explained that at 1.35 a.m. Titchener was driving out of town and ran into two taxis which were correctly parked on what was Titchener’s wrong side of the street. The noise of the impact woke up the taxi proprietor, who found accused in his stationary car, under the obvious influence of liquor. Tho police were communicated with, but in the interlude before their arrival Titchener had besought another taxi and driven home. When he was apprehended two doctors had pronounced him as being in an unfit state to drive a car.

Nothing previous was known against accused.

Asked by the Bench how much liquor he had consumed, Titchener replied that three bottles of beer had been shared among four men.

Mr. Graham commented that the offonce admitted was a very serious one, especially in such a place as Broad way, for an intoxicated driver placed not only himself but others in jeopardy. The Courts had rocently been very severe on intoxicated motorists and ths time was fast approaching when they would not enjoy even the option of a fine buE would be imprisoned for a first offence.

“However, in this case, although there are serious aspects which would justify a sentence, we propose only to impose a fine, as it is a first offence,-” said Mr. Graham. Accused was fined £ls and ordered to pay expenses, while his license was ancelled until May 3L