LIQUOR AND MOTORING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20528, 1 April 1930, Page 15

LIQUOR AND MOTORING.

TWO ARRESTS AT WEEK-END TAXI-DRIVER FINED £4O LICENCE CANCELLED FOR YEAR. Two motorists who were arrested during tho. week-end in city streets appeared in tho Police Court yesterday charged with being intoxicated when in charge of their cars. Ono was fined £4O and had his licence cancelled for 12 months and the other was fined £25. Both accused admitted the offence. I realise that in committing this offence a taxi driver commits a more soiious error than a private motorist," said Mr. Bryce Hart, in entering a plea of guilty for Norman Pattullo, aged 42, a taxi-driver, who was arrested in Quay Stieet on Sunday. "However, ho was not drunk in his capacity as a taxicab driver, as he had finished his day's work." After driving a fare to Kohimarama accused had commenced to drive home, but he had met friends, and had taken a quantity °f gin. was a married man and had not been in» trouble before. Exceptional injuries he had received at Gallipoli, where he had served with the Main Body, had resulted in operations on his heels, so that he limped. Pattullo had been quite frank about his oflience. and had caused no damage. Sub-Inspector McCarthy stated that accused had been seen driving toward the foot of Queen Street by a constable, who had suspicions and followed the cab. When he saw accused in the car Pattullo was very much under the influence of liquor, so much so that he was almost drunk enough to be locked up as a pedestrian.

"The only thing in his favour that I can say is that he was driving at a very slow rate," concluded Mr. McCarthy.

"I ask Your Worthip to inflict a fine, however heavy it may be," said Mr. Hart. "He will have to lose his licence and his car and that is a very heavy punishment. He has learned his lesson and I earnestly ask Your Worship not to impose a term of imprisonment."

"This man apparently was particularly drunk, but he was driving with as much care as he could be expected to exercise," said tho magistrate, Mr. W. It. McKean, who fined Pattullo £4O and ordered his driving licence to be cancelled for 12 months, Accused was, allowed seven days in which to pay the fine.

The other case was that of Leslie Alfred Stanghan, aged 27, a garage attendant, for whom Mr. Allan Moody pleaded guilty. Counsel stated that accused, who was married, had been to a staff picnic on Saturday afternoon and as he was returning home up Carlton Gore Road and over Grafton Bridge was seen to be driving erratically. During the afternoon he had taken three bottles of beer and the shaking he had received coming in from Howick over a rough road might possibly have affected him. He had had no lunch during the day. The sub-inspector stated that another motorist saw accused in Broadway and noticing that there was something wrong with his driving followed him up Carlton Gore Road and over Grafton Bridge. In K"arant;ahape Road lie overtook accused and informed a traffic officer. "Stanghan was not what would be called drunk, but ho was too far gone in liquor to be in charge of a car," concluded Mr. McCarthy. Making a plea that accused should be allowed to retain his licence, Mr. Moody said that for some time lie had been unemployed, but had obtained work. He had been studying hard to become a mechanic and the cancellation of his licence would seriously affect him. The magistrate inflicted a fine of £25, in default ono month's imprisonment, allowing accused 14 days in which to make payment.