Helped stop a drink driver

[sherbertdip]

Steve Maund said:

Last Thursday, I was working in a car dealership when a lorry driver runs into the showroom saying that a guy in the passenger seat of a car on the road outside the dealership is dead, call the police and the ambulance.

I run outside with a customer following me, get to the vehicle to find a guy in his 20's slumped in the passenger seat. I could feel no pulse and could not hear the guy breathe so I thought the worst. A colleague then comes up to me with a mobile phone with the ambulance call centre on the line giving me further instructions on what to do.

After what seems like ages the guy starts to come round and I can smell alcohol on his breath, I'm giving him a could of slaps now as it is obvious he is pissed as a fart trying to wake him up.

Anyway, after 10 minutes the ambulance and police show up.
Looking around the Hi Lux that he was in, empty "wife beater" cans and a empty bottle of Vodka (all this at 10.30 in the morning).
Car keys are in the ignition and his phone is linked to Bluetooth as it was ringing.

The police took a sample and he was 4 times over the limit, then later at the hospital a couple of hours later in was down to twice the legal limit.

The police have asked for CCTV footage which shows the car arriving outside at 09.45am but nobody leaving the car from either the passenger seat or drivers seat.
The guy in questions was giving it the "big I am" by saying to the police that his family will buy him out of drink driving charge and he has stated his mate was driving and has done a runner but he will not give any details of the driver.......

The police came over later in the day to ask for a statement from me and the customer that was with me at the time.
The police also told me the guy was involved in a road accident with an elderly gentleman about an hour before we found him..

I hope they can prosecute him, he was driving a 2.5 tonne vehicle in bad weather conditions 4 time over the limit.

The joys of working in a car dealership..........

Good story, hope he get's what he deserves.

Not sure relevance to working in a car dealership though

[Greshamst]

So you helped stop a drink driver by waking him up? Ok.

Joys of working in a car dealership... is this something that happens often working in a car dealership?

[superlightr]

Steve Maund said:

Last Thursday, I was working in a car dealership when a lorry driver runs into the showroom saying that a guy in the passenger seat of a car on the road outside


and


I run outside with a customer following me, get to the vehicle to find a guy in his 20's slumped in the passenger seat.



then

I hope they can prosecute him, he was driving a 2.5 tonne vehicle in bad weather conditions 4 time over the limit.

Edited by Steve Maund on Wednesday 14th March 10:09

Gaping hole in all of this....he was in the passenger seat when you saw him.

the Lorry driver confirms this, you have confirmed this and presumably your customer in the showroom will confirm this.

Why would you want him prosecuted if he wasn't driving?

Edited by superlightr on Wednesday 14th March 10:34

[Russian Troll Bot]

superlightr said:

Gaping hole in all of this....he was in the passenger seat when you saw him.

the Lorry driver confirms this, you have confirmed this and presumably your customer in the showroom will confirm this.

Why would you want him prosecuted if he wasn't driving?

Edited by superlightr on Wednesday 14th March 10:34

Surely since the keys were in the ignition he would be classified as being in charge of the vehicle?

[superlightr]

Russian Troll Bot said:

superlightr said:

Gaping hole in all of this....he was in the passenger seat when you saw him.

the Lorry driver confirms this, you have confirmed this and presumably your customer in the showroom will confirm this.

Why would you want him prosecuted if he wasn't driving?

Edited by superlightr on Wednesday 14th March 10:34

Surely since the keys were in the ignition he would be classified as being in charge of the vehicle?

perhaps. perhaps not if he was simply left sitting in the car after the driver stopped and went away. in fact he was asleep in the passenger seat so he may not even know why the driver stopped and went away....

I agree with all posters here - it sounds like he may have been the driver and swapped seats but for a legal pov its has to be proved. As an ex-solicitor its important to me that the due process and evidence is obtained. its interesting to challenge the automatic assumption he has swapped seats.

ive not seen the CCTV - usually grainy/poor quality/not showing full view... etc.

How would you feel if you had been on a pub crawl and got a friend or a taxi to drive you home and the driver stopped and went away leaving you sleeping in the car with the keys still there. Were you in control/charge of the car?

Edited by superlightr on Wednesday 14th March 11:51

[Russian Troll Bot]

superlightr said:

perhaps. perhaps not if he was simply left sitting in the car after the driver stopped and went away. in fact he was asleep in the passenger seat so he may not even know why the driver stopped and went away....

I agree with all posters here - it sounds like he may have been the driver and swapped seats but for a legal pov its has to be proved. As an ex-solicitor its important to me that the due process and evidence is obtained. its interesting to challenge the automatic assumption he has swapped seats.

How would you feel if you had been on a pub crawl and got a friend or a taxi to drive you home and the driver stopped and went away leaving you sleeping in the car with the keys still there. Were you in control/charge of the car?

A taxi driver isn't likely to leave a drunk customer with his keys, so should be fairly easy to prove. If the person in question was also the registered keeper or insured on the vehicle and had his phone connected to the stereo, you would have a strong case for saying he was in charge.

[simoid]

Steve Maund said:

I can understand your point of view, but, I have seen the cctv and the quality is good enough to see no one getting out the vehicle apart from the drunk who stopped to have a pee and then get back in the passenger side.
Unless the so called driver of the vehicle is as quick as Usain Bolt leaving the starting blocks, no-one else was in that car.

I know the law gets a bit silly at times, but why would he not give details of his mate who has supposedly done a runner and left him to it?

Did he possibly arrive sober, then down all the booze?

[superlightr]

Steve Maund said:

I can understand your point of view, but, I have seen the cctv and the quality is good enough to see no one getting out the vehicle apart from the drunk who stopped to have a pee and then get back in the passenger side.
Unless the so called driver of the vehicle is as quick as Usain Bolt leaving the starting blocks, no-one else was in that car.

I know the law gets a bit silly at times, but why would he not give details of his mate who has supposedly done a runner and left him to it?

agree but from what you have said all you saw was him in the passenger side - so was looking to see how the police would prove he was the driver. beyond reasonable doubt.

[pavarotti1980]

simoid said:

Did he possibly arrive sober, then down all the booze?

Still in charge though if keys in ignition and proved that the vehicle arrived and no-one got out of it unless it is a self-drive

[Snails]

superlightr said:

agree but from what you have said all you saw was him in the passenger side - so was looking to see how the police would prove he was the driver. beyond reasonable doubt.

I would hope that as the CCTV shows the vehicle arrive and no-one else get out apart from the drunk getting out to urinate and subsequently getting back in, that it could safely be assumed that the drunk was the one driving the vehicle?

[evilandy]

Steve Maund said:

I hope they can prosecute him, he was driving a 2.5 tonne vehicle in bad weather conditions 4 time over the limit.

Edited by Steve Maund on Wednesday 14th March 10:09

Please don't exaggerate your story. The Toyota HiLux Double Cab is approximately 1.4 tonnes. C'mon this is Pistonheads!

[robbocop33]

I gave up being the 'good citizen' reporting drink drivers, waste of time. Reported (by phone) the same guy drink driving 30+ times to my local police station 2 miles away, they never came out once, gave up after that, Police Scotland at their finest!
Incidentally we're talking about a guy crawling to his car to drive it and keeping it in 1st gear.

[D1ckie]

Steve Maund said:

The police have asked for CCTV footage which shows the car arriving outside at 09.45am but nobody leaving the car from either the passenger seat or drivers seat. You can just see slight movement in the car, (it could be the guy moving from the driver to the passenger seat)

Steve Maund said:

I can understand your point of view, but, I have seen the cctv and the quality is good enough to see no one getting out the vehicle apart from the drunk who stopped to have a pee and then get back in the passenger side.

And this is why lawyers can win cases!!!

[sherbertdip]

As i hinted in my first post about this, this is a story, nothing more nothing less, utter bks. Why do people make this kind of stuff up on here; insecurity, craving attention, plain boredom and mischief?

[Gavia]

D1ckie said:

Steve Maund said:

The police have asked for CCTV footage which shows the car arriving outside at 09.45am but nobody leaving the car from either the passenger seat or drivers seat. You can just see slight movement in the car, (it could be the guy moving from the driver to the passenger seat)

Steve Maund said:

I can understand your point of view, but, I have seen the cctv and the quality is good enough to see no one getting out the vehicle apart from the drunk who stopped to have a pee and then get back in the passenger side.

And this is why lawyers can win cases!!!

100% this. Completely made up story and can’t keep any sort of consistency to it.

[The Rookie]

Genuinely 5 times the legal limit, that’s usually pretty much dead!

Or when you say 4 times over the legal limit, do you mean 4 times the legal limit (3 times over) which seems much more believable?

[Gavia]

And to confirm our suspicions, the OP has deleted his opening post.

[superlightr]

Gavia said:

And to confirm our suspicions, the OP has deleted his opening post.

I think the OP is genuine and his recollection of the events. Would not doubt him/another PH without good reason not to.

I was more interested in the 'technical' side of proving who the driver was.