Northampton drink-driver cops three-year ban after blowing nearly twice legal limit on Christmas Day

A Christmas Day drink-driver landed a three-year ban at Northampton Magistrates’ Court hours after he was snared in a police crackdown.

Alexandru Todirica, aged 39, was nearly twice the legal limit when he was behind the wheel of a Mercedes E220 in Marburg Street on December 25. A hearing on Boxing Day was told tests showed Todirica, of Turner Street in the town, had 67 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of his breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Todirica also pleaded guilty to driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and having no insurance and was hit with a community order requiring him to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.

Norhamptonshire Police launched its annual Christmas drink-drive campaign early to coincide with the football World Cup kicking off in November. By January 2, the six-week campaign had seen nearly 140 people either arrested or charged with drink or drug-driving offences — compared to last year’s 83 motorists charged with driving while over the limit and 13 arrested for failing a roadside drug test.

The main aim of the campaign is to educate road users on the consequences of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs however, anyone found to be over the limit will face the full force of the law. However, as in previous years, drivers charged with drink or drug driving during the six-week campaign have been publicly named on the Northamptonshire Police website and its social media accounts.

Inspector Ian Wills of Northamptonshire Police Roads Policing Team said: “Our focus continues to be to reduce the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on our roads.

“It is not our intention to stop people from having fun, our intention is to try and ensure that everyone gets home safely, and no one receives that terrible knock on the door to tell them the devastating news that someone they love has been killed or seriously injured.

“It only takes a few seconds to have a collision which can change your life or the life of an innocent bystander and their family. How would you feel knowing that your actions caused a collision and brought devastation to an entire family?

“It’s not possible to say how much alcohol you can drink and stay below the limit as the way alcohol affects you depends on various factors, and the risks of getting behind the wheel, not just on the night when you have been drinking, but also the morning after, could be fatal.

“If you’re out and know you will be drinking, make sure you have plans for getting home safely without driving. If you do have to drive, our advice is to avoid alcohol completely. The only safe limit is none.

“While most of us know how dangerous it is to take the risk of driving under the influence and though we share this message every year, I guarantee there’ll be some who still choose to ignore it. Please don’t be one of these drivers.”