DRIVER AGED 75

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23075, 28 June 1938, Page 11

DRIVER AGED 75

INTOXICATION i^JIAEGE COMMENTS BY MAGISTRATE \ FINE OF £25 IMPOL^E'D NO LICENCE FOR FIVE WARS "Surely there should bo limit for the granting of driy.mg licences." said Mr. C. N. Orr Wa.lkt'r, S.M., in the Police Court vesterdajv, when Charles Holden Wood, aged '7J>< a labourer, appeared on charges .vf drunkenness and of being in charge of a motor-car while in a state of in--< toxication. Accused, who was represented by Mr. Wallace, pleaded guilty to both charges. Sub-Inspector Fox said that at about 5 p.m. on June 14 accused was driving a motor-car along Manukau Road. The car left the road, and, crashing through a fence, came to rest iu the front garden belonging to a private residence. When the owner of the house came to the scene, no other person was there, but a few minutes later, while the police were present, accused arrived in a taxi. Questioned by the police, lie denied the car was his, but lie later admitted the fact. Accused, who at first declined to give his name, was staggering and his breath smelled of liquor. A Previous Conviction Two hours after the accident, continued Mr. Fox, accused was examined by a doctor, who certified that he was - then in a state of intoxication and was unfit to be in charge of a ear. Accused had been convicted of a similar offence in April, when lie was fined £ls and disqualified from holding a driving licence for two years. Mr. Wallace said that accused's condition was not so bad at the time of the accident as it was when he was accosted by the police. He was an old man and suffered from ill-health, for which he had to diet strictly. He had abstained from liquor for some time, but on the afternoon in question had taken two or three drinks which had produced more effect than would normally be expected. Plea by Counsel After the accident, continued Mr. Wallace, accused became panic-stricken. He went home and rather foolishly took brandy, which accounted for his condition when lie was met by the police. On account of accused's age and physical condition, counsel asked the magistrate not to send him to prison. Stating that he could not understand why a man of accused's record and age should have been allowed to obtain a driving licence, the magistrate said he did not propose to send him to prison. On the charge of being in charge of a motor-car while in a state of intoxication, accused was convicted and fined £25. His driving licence was suspended and he was prohibited from obtaining a further licence for five years. On the charge of drunkenness, he was convicted and discharged.

.TRIP TO A PARTY "VIRTUALLY A TEETOTALLER" [from our own correspondent] Hamilton, Monday A plasterer, Donald Stewart McMillan, aged 22, of Huntly (Mr. N. S. Johnson), appeared before Mr. S. L. Paterson, S.M., in the Police Court to-day, charged with being found in a state of intoxication while in charge of a motor-car in Victoria Street, Hamilton, on June 26. Accused pleaded guilty. Mr. Johnson said accused was virtually a teetotaller. He had driven friends from Huntly to a party at Hamilton. Accused was fined £ls and costs and his driving licence was suspended until June 1, 1940. ERRATIC DRIVING KUTARERE FARMER CHARGED [by telegraph OWN correspondent] OPOTIKI, Monday At the Opotiki Police Court to-day, before justices of the peace, Clifford Henry Robinson, farmer, of Kutarere, was charged with being intoxicated while in charge of a car. Evidence was given that a car was noticed being driven in an erratic manner at a street corner bv a traffic inspector, Mr. J. H. Morell, who secured the assistance of another motorist and drove in front of the accused's car, stopping him. Dr. A. J. Brass and Dr. H. Mail certified that' accused was not in a condition to drive a car. Accused was fined £lO and his licence was cancelled for the current term. DUNEDIN OFFENDERS INSURANCE MANAGER FINED [by TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] DUNEDIN, Monday For being intoxicated in charge of a car, Robert Black, insurance manager, was fined £25 and his licence was suspended for 12 months. Thomas Alfred Bertram Croxford, a labourer, was fined £2O and his licence was also suspended for 12 months for a similar offence.