Motorist caught driving dangerously on M5 sentenced for drink driving

A man has been sentenced after police observed him driving dangerously on the M5 in Somerset while around twice the legal alcohol limit.

Enock Chitsara, 42, of Llanybydder, Carmarthenshire, was arrested after a roadside breath test indicated that he was heavily intoxicated at the wheel of his Ford Ranger pickup truck in the early hours of Monday 17 August.

At around 11.30pm on Sunday 16 August, a member of the public contacted police to report concerns about a motorist driving erratically in the Bridgwater area.

Assisted by Automatic Numberplate Recognition (ANPR) technology, officers later located the vehicle near junction 22 of the M5 northbound and followed it to Gordano Services at junction 19. During the journey, Chitsara was observed veering between lanes and braking unpredictably, at one point slowing to 28mph.

After exiting the motorway and pulling into Gordano Services, officers brought the vehicle to a stop and arrested Chitsara on suspicion of driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs, due to the fact that he appeared drowsy and smelt strongly of alcohol. A roadside breath test subsequently indicated he was significantly in excess of the legal drink-drive limit.

An evidential breath test later carried out in custody gave a reading of 60 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, almost twice the legal limit.

Chitsara was charged with driving whilst over the prescribed limit for alcohol and appeared in court yesterday, Monday 14 September.

He was disqualified from driving for a period of 17 months and ordered to pay fines totalling £556.

PC Jack Keane said:

“Drink and drug driving puts lives at risk and there is simply no excuse for getting behind the wheel while impaired.

“The actions of this driver posed a significant risk to everyone else using the motorway that night. Thankfully, information provided by a member of the public allowed officers to intervene and remove him from the road.”

Most drink and drug drivers are repeat offenders. Reporting someone you know or suspect regularly drives under the influence of drink or drugs could prevent a serious or fatal collision.

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