A company boss got behind the wheel while more than three times the legal alcohol limit after his drunken friend took his Harley Davidson for a spin in the countryside.
Paul Usher, 53, went searching for his friend after he vanished from his remote home on the banks of Loch Tay with his powerful 1690 CC motorcycle.
But as he hunted through the village of Fortingall he was confronted by worried residents, who called police.
Usher, who is registered as director of a dissolved consultancy firm, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted drink-driving on May 17 last year.
He was banned from the road for three years and fined £1,175.
Failed breath test
Fiscal depute Stuart Hamilton said: “At around 8.50pm, witnesses in their home addresses were alerted to the sound of a vehicle alarm outside.
“Moments later, the accused’s car was observed to drive at speed, before coming to a sudden stop.
“The accused was seen to be driving and he was the only person in the vehicle.”
Usher climbed out of his Toyota Hilux.
Mr Hamilton said that witnesses described his speech as slurred and said he was “staggering,” although Usher denied he behaved in this way.
“They were concerned he was going to drive off,” the fiscal depute said.
“Another person entered the vehicle and drove it away.
“Police were contacted by witnesses and officers later traced the accused at the scene.
“He stated he had driven to the locus.”
Usher, of Creagach, Fearnan, was taken to police HQ in Dundee after failing a roadside breath test.
He pled guilty to driving along Main Street, Fortingall, with 71 mics of alcohol per 100 ml of breath. The legal limit is 22 mics.
‘Valuable member of community’
Solicitor David Holmes, defending, said his client did not stagger or slur his words after leaving his car but he accepted he did smell of alcohol.
“Mr Usher lives about two miles from the locus.
“He had been at home, showing a person another vehicle, a motorbike.
“He momentarily turned away, and when he came back this person and the bike was not there.”
Mr Holmes said: “Mr Usher was very concerned about the safety of this young man.
“By the time he had reached Fortingall, the man had already gone off the road so his fears were confirmed.”
The solicitor described Usher as a “valuable member of his local community”.
Usher is “in charge of making decisions regarding the personal safety of staff,” he said.
The court heard he will be able to keep his job if he loses his licence.
Sheriff William Gilchrist told Usher: “The circumstances may be slightly unusual, but the bottom line is that you drove while over the limit.”
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