Mom ordered brand to be worn after driving young children home three times over the alcohol limit

A mother has been ordered to wear an electronic “soriety badge” after driving her uninsured Audi 4×4 while exceeding the triple drinking limit while taking two young children home from lunch.

Rhian Hughes, 41, has failed a breath and blood test after consuming two glasses of cider during the day, just hours after enjoying a Prosecco binge with friends the night before.

Police said the mother-of-two became argumentative with officers when she was pulled over for “running into” an off-duty special police officer.

At the time, her nine-year-old child and a five-year-old family friend were in her Q3 TDI SE.

A breath test showed Hughes had 112 micrograms of alcohol per 100 milliliters of breath, the legal limit being 35 mg, while a subsequent blood test showed she had 224 milligrams of alcohol in 100 ml of blood in her system.

The legal limit in the blood is 80 mg. Further inquiries revealed that the vehicle’s insurance had expired prior to the incident.

At Crewe Magistrates’ Court, Hughes, of Winsford, was ordered to abstain from alcohol for 120 days.

One tag will measure alcohol levels from her sweat every 30 minutes, with the results relayed to authorities via a computer base unit placed in her home.

At 3pm on 09 July 2022, Hughes was caught driving erratically on the A50 at Holmes Chapel.

Miss Stephanie Fanello, Prosecutor, said: “At 2.44pm police were called by a Mr King who was an off-duty Special Constable. He said the defendant hit him and swerved across the street.

“Mr King stopped his car and confronted the driver in her white Audi vehicle. He said the defendant was heavily intoxicated and had two children in the car. He said she spoke slurred and was unsteady on her feet.

“Officials arrived and confirmed that the defendant was unsteady on her feet, her eyes were glazed and she spoke slurred.

“At the side of the road, she became erratic and argumentative with the officers. She was clearly intoxicated, disorderly, cursing and stumbling, and unfit to drive.

“A PC Condliffe tried to make sure she stayed close to the police vehicle and she became confrontational as she started walking away throwing her arms in the air. The police on-board computer also showed that she had no insurance.

“She gave a breath sample at the side of the road, the reading was 112 micrograms. She was taken into custody to undergo further breath tests. There was no real attempt to provide a breath sample. She sealed her mouth around the test device, but didn’t actually blow.

“As such, another blood test procedure was carried out and the result was 224 micrograms. This offense was compounded by the children in the car at the time.”

Hughes had a criminal record since 2014 for being responsible for a vehicle with excessive alcohol, for which she was fined.

A parole report stated: “There are no addiction problems with alcohol. It’s more binge drinking than daily drinking. She drinks one or two evenings during the week.

“She had been with friends on Friday when they had a few bottles of Prosecco together. She went to an event on Saturday and unfortunately had refilled a few glasses of cider.

“That’s why the reading is as high as before, and why she didn’t think she was too drunk to drive. You won’t feel drunk the next day provided your mind adjusts to it. By all accounts, she didn’t realize she was over the limit.

“She was upset at the interview. She had two kids in the car and didn’t realize she was still drunk. She would not have driven if she had known.”

The report added: “The alcohol monitors would be very useful in this case. It will teach the accused that they can do without alcohol. Eventually she will get her driver’s license back and she will have to control her drinking. The device will also be a punishment as it will affect their social life. But it will stand her in good stead in the future.”

Attorney Jo Corbett, representing Hughes, said she didn’t realize how much alcohol would have been left in her system from the previous day and how the reading would have added up had she been drinking again.

“She is very remorseful for her actions,” said Miss Corbett, “Miss Hughes had been drinking the night before and was not really aware that she was going to get a reading like that.

‘She says she hasn’t thought much about it. If she had known how high the reading was, she would certainly not have driven, especially if there were children in the car. She is very remorseful for her actions.

After the roadside confrontation with police, Miss Corbett said Hughes tried to get the children away from the car and into the shade because it was a hot day.

Hughes was also sentenced to a 12-month community directive with 200 hours of unpaid labor. She was also banned from driving for 28 months and had to pay £234 in costs and a victim’s surcharge.

The Chair Dr. Gwyneth Edwards told her: “We consider this case to be very serious. It was a very high reading, the driving style was very poor, you swerved on the road and tailgated. A member of the public was so concerned he had to stop you himself.

“Police and this member of the public both said you were slurring your speech and unsteady on your feet. When the police arrived, your behavior was so bad that you had to be detained. Two children were in your car and you have a criminal record for excessive drinking while in charge of a vehicle. You didn’t cooperate with the breath test at the detention center and you drove without insurance.

“You have to cooperate with alcohol abstinence monitoring for 120 days. The equipment takes your alcohol consumption into account. You will be brought back to court if it happens.’

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk