A blind driver who drove 150 miles under the influence of alcohol while using lorry lights as a guide was spared jail today after blaming his dangerous behavior on a mental ‘breakdown’.
Anthony Hall, who came to court wearing dark glasses and carrying a white cane, took his partner’s Vauxhall late at night after drinking four bottles of wine.
The 50-year-old, who is registered blind and has never taken a driving test, was heading to Scotland from his home in West Yorkshire.
But he was stopped by police after he overtook a lorry and began drifting onto the emergency lane as he looked for another ‘marker to follow’, Kirklees Magistrates’ Court heard.
Amazingly, he had only stopped once – for fuel, when the petrol man, because he is blind, had refueled his car for him, the court was told.
Hall was today sentenced to 36 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, driving with excess alcohol, driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent and not having a driver’s license and insurance.
Hall had been driving for more than two hours when he was spotted by police at 1.40am on June 29, prosecutor Damian Walsh said.
He was eventually stopped by officers near Junction 44 of the M6, near Carlisle, Cumbria.
Anthony Hall, 50, (pictured after an earlier court hearing) told police he navigated by following the taillights of a truck but was caught driving erratically
A roadside breath test showed 50 micrograms per 100 milliliters of breath – the legal limit is 35. An evidence test at a police station gave a reading of 46 micrograms.
“Police received information that there was a driver, under the influence of alcohol, who was indeed blind,” Mr Walsh said.
“The officer saw the vehicle veer into lane one, drift onto the emergency lane and back again, and then drift into lane two and back.”
When Hall stopped on the emergency lane, the officer detained him and removed the keys from the Vauxhall Meriva.
“While the officer was speaking with the suspect, he smelled alcohol on his breath,” the prosecutor added.
Hall admitted to drinking some wine before getting into the car.
“The officer then asked the defendant if he was blind and he said ‘yes’,” Mr Walsh said.
Hall explained that he went blind about two years ago, but that he has “light perception.”
Hall pleaded guilty to five offences, including dangerous driving and drink driving
“He can see some light and he told officers he followed the red lights of a truck,” he said.
But after overtaking a truck, he explained that he was “looking for another marker to help him out.”
‘He told officers he had driven from his home in Huddersfield to where he was now arrested. Officers checked that distance on Google Maps and it turned out to be 150 miles.”
He explained that he had taken the car without his partner’s permission. In an interview, Hall told police he was aware of the risks of driving as a registered blind man.
He had driven anyway because, Mr Walsh said: ‘He just wanted to get as far away from his home life and as far away as possible to Scotland because of ongoing disagreements over his finances and family relationships. He said he was aware of the risks of driving through the tailgates of trucks.”
Hall told officers that he had never had a driver’s license and that he learned how to operate it from being around cars all his life. He said that before they left, he and his partner shared four bottles of wine.
“Fortunately, no party was injured,” Walsh told the bench. He described the dangerous driving as ‘prolonged and persistent’ and said Hall showed ‘a disregard for the rules of the road’.
Mitigating for Hall, Adele Graham said he had no previous convictions. She said her client had a mental “breakdown” that night and felt trapped in his own home.
In addition to the suspended prison sentence, Hall must comply with ten rehabilitation activity requirements, be disqualified from driving for 12 months and must pay a £187 surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.
Chairman of the bench Tracey McErlain-Burns told Hall that his dangerous driving was “aggravated” by the excess alcohol in his system.
