A drunken lorry driver who risked countless lives as he careered down the A9 in Perthshire has been jailed.
Kevin Walker was almost five times the legal drink-drive limit and so inebriated that he could barely raise his head never mind control his vehicle safely.
Perth Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday that the 48-year-old downed almost an entire bottle of spirits as he drove, weaving from side to side of the busy road during what was peak holiday season.
Terrified motorists made a flood of calls to Tayside Police to report Walker, who had only been back on the road for a matter of months after serving a two-year drink-driving ban.
When stopped by police, he was so drunk they found him slumped over the wheel of his articulated vehicle, leading them to call for an ambulance, such was their concern for his health.
Paramedics, however, confirmed Walker’s condition was simply down to his staggering consumption of alcohol.
Terrifyingly, he had planned to continue on up the A9 for almost 100 miles before concluding his drive in Inverness-shire.
An aghast Sheriff Lindsay Foulis told the accused his actions could have resulted in “mayhem” on a road already notorious for the regularity of serious accidents.
“You were driving on a busy A9 in peak holiday season at the wheel of an articulated lorry while you were more than four and a half times the legal limit,” he said. “This was mayhem waiting to happen and there is no sentence I can impose that reflects the seriousness of your actions other than custody.
“Had a car come into contact with your vehicle then there was the possibility you could have been injured, but your chances of survival would certainly have been better than that of someone in the car.
“Of course, there might not have been just one person affected. It could have been a mother and father with three kids in the back.”
He added that many people in the accused’s position often failed to come to terms with their alcohol problems “until it is already too late.”
Depute fiscal Stuart Richardson told the court motorists were heading north shortly after 1pm when they became aware of a lorry veering about ahead.
“They were concerned enough to call the police immediately and they eventually caught up with the lorry and pulled it over in a layby near Dunkeld,” he said. “They found the accused slumped over his steering wheel and were so concerned by his appearance that they called an ambulance, although paramedics soon confirmed that he was fit to be detained.”
The accused had been working in the Glenfarg area before setting out on his journey north.
Walker, of Birkenhillock Road, Forres, Moray, later appeared at court to admit that on August 3, on the A9 Perth to Inverness road near Birnam, he drove a lorry with excess alcohol (156 mics). The legal limit is just 35 mics.
Solicitor Linda Clark said her client had suffered depression for some time and was self-medicating with alcohol at the time of both drink-driving offences.
“This second drink-driving offence took place just after the first anniversary of his mother’s death,” she said. “He had been feeling low and had stopped taking his medication.
“On the day he purchased alcohol and consumed a fair part of the bottle before foolishly continuing on his way.”
The agent added that her client had abstained from alcohol since the incident and was seeking help for what he now accepted was a problem with alcohol.
Mrs Clark continued: “Alcohol has been at the centre of this offence and the last one, but he is now taking steps to address his issues. He has abstained from alcohol since this incident.
“I have made it clear to him that custody is an option.”
Sheriff Foulis said it was quite simply the only possible sentence, given the previous conviction. He sentenced Walker to four months’ imprisonment and disqualified him from driving for six years.